No matter how much the Zodiac (or Zodiac-personality) appeared to switch up his modus operandi, there are certain habits he could not, and did not want to break. He was literally obsessed with location, numbers, sports, word or name games, puns, and taking credit for his applied “art”.
He is such a complex, abstract thinker, no one is very likely to understand him. He is a master of chaos, and smoke-and-mirrors deception and deflection, so that every communication he initiates, appears to be a challenge. He is constantly insinuating, “Do you get me now?” He probably has trouble relaxing, and may avoid “small talk”. The inability of others to understand him, combined with his inability to communicate on an intimate level, may cause friction or create distance in his relationships, which is likely to make him feel isolated and alone.
Yet, this doesn’t necessarily mean he would be unsocial. He could probably be surrounded by a crowd of people, all having a grand ole’ time, and still feel like he is the only one in the room. He is attention-seeking because he wants to feel validated, which he obviously doesn’t. I imagine he went through his whole life feeling very misunderstood, frustrated, and undervalued in some ways. He probably lashes out and expresses anger at times, and at other times suppresses it out of necessity. This bottling-up of agitated feelings, causes them to be expressed in unhealthy ways. He doesn’t seem to have a positive outlet for expression, which is his downfall.
I have always thought (since April 2020, when I discovered he existed anyway) that he is likely to have a family member in law enforcement, who would probably be a male authority figure such as a father, or a competitive and condescending brother whom he despises, maybe even secretly, for whatever reason. He seems to know a LOT about police procedures and how to mess up a case. I also always thought, for a number of reasons, that he had had some kind of military experience; his location fetish, and fascination with acronyms would be two. He could be involved in entrepreneurship given his propensity for high-risk behaviour and control, combined with his desire for managing location. He seems to be somewhat of an outdoors man, and in particular, a mountain man of sorts. I would imagine he can unwind out in the bush where he doesn’t have to impress anyone but himself.
He seems to always be on top of whatever is happening in the news world, so I expect he read a lot in his day. He probably finds humour in many things, and likely shocks people well-known to him with things he thinks are funny. I would definitely consider him to be a skilled planner. I expect he is manipulative in real life: is someone who pursues his interests and doesn’t like taking “no” for an answer. He seems pretty dedicated to his routine of managing any situation, and could have various interests, as he is probably someone who doesn’t like to get bored.
Unfortunately, he took this wrong path of what appears to be “stress relief” for him. He didn’t seem to want to cause his victims any excessive pain and suffering, beyond what was necessary to kill. He didn’t seem to normally engage with his victims all that much to get too “messy” from a crime scene. He didn’t seem overly interested in robbing anyone, so he likely had resources and didn’t need money. When he did rob, I will bet it was not for money, but for location, names and numbers. He wasn’t really looking for fame, or he would have revealed himself by now. His entertainment with killing was not so much in the kill, but in the “game” of literally “getting away with murder”. Because of his continued competitiveness, I expect he first killed early in life; and his ability to succeed in evasion is learned behaviour. I think it would be difficult for him to quit on his own.
He seems to have some kind of issue with women, or perhaps with specific women in his life, and his female victims were an outlet to express that. Although he likely knew at least a few of his victims, in the grand scheme of things, the victims were just pawns to get what he really wanted, which was a pretty blunt in-your-face double middle finger to law enforcement. Rather than taking actual trophies from his victims, they themselves were literally–with language and numbers–his calling card.
It’s probable he obtained at least some knowledge of his victims from a distance, including reading about them in the newspaper. If he is still alive, he would have switched to online methods of communication, research and stealth behaviour, to keep up with technology; he likes to stay informed.
Instead of being some kind of “weirdo”, it’s altogether possible that people liked him, at least to a point. He’s witty and amusing, but on the dark side of life. Obviously, challenging situations are his forte. He probably creates “messes” on purpose, just for kicks to test if he can get himself out of them. He’s fairly adaptable, which seems to be one way he completely evaded law enforcement. He’s a bit of a contradiction because he exhibits high-risk and also low-risk behaviour. His cautious side could indicate that he actually does have a life, and/or values what others think of him. He’s a bit “crazy” (as in bold), but not at all “insane” (as he or his “personality” once claimed); in fact, he is quite logical, which was likely his safeguard. He’s not completely reckless; he is reasonable enough to know that he is pushing the envelope in the direction of his arrest. As a sportsman, he knew this all along, and would likely concede defeat in the end, but he would never give up or forfeit the game.
I can’t quite get a grasp on his personal religious beliefs or aspirations, but he certainly seems to be knowledgable about Roman Catholicism, whether he himself is Christian or not. He may have a love-hate relationship with God. I would almost guarantee that when he wrote about “Paradice”, it had absolutely nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with location.
The Zodiac or Zodiac-personality, who was responsible for at least some of the communication attributed to the Zodiac Killer, and who in fact, did kill, was a bit of a trademark fanatic. He liked to put his own stamp on things. No doubt he was a huge fan of “in-jokes”.
Dana Ramm, 20, went missing from Pleasanton, California, during the Christmas holiday season, on or around Sunday, December 28, 1986. She was found deceased in Sunol the following morning on December 29. According to a crime scene photo, posted on TheDeckPodcast.com, she was found on the right side of a gravel shoulder of a two-lane road, which travelled toward a mountainous area. No tire tracks were visible in the dirt. In the position Dana was described to have been found, it seemed likely that she was placed there rather than having been tossed from a vehicle. According to police, she had died of manual strangulation, which means no ligature was used, and could mean her assailant was known to her.
This author believes there are factual connections between the 1986 murder of Dana Ramm and these other incidents, now cold cases, that also occurred in California:
Donna Lass (female), missing 1970, found deceased 1986, identified 2023
Robin Hedrick (female), missing 1992, found deceased 1993, identified 2023, official statement released February 13, 2024
Of these incidents, Paul Stine was confirmed by law enforcement to be a Zodiac Killer victim. Of three couple attacks, also attributed to Zodiac, two males survived, which brings the number of confirmed Zodiac victims to five.
While the “Zodiac” may or may not have had more victims, it doesn’t change the fact that the crimes involving the above-mentioned seven victims all have habitual factors in common, which represent “clues” that link the victims. In this manner, the perpetrator appears to be daring anyone to figure out his actions. This is a very high-risk “game” for an offender to play and one at which he was so far very successful. It’s because he is rather brilliant (albeit in a ba-a-a-d way) that no one seems to have caught on to what he has been up to. Whether these crimes in fact, involve the same suspect(s) or not, would of course, have to be determined by physical evidence. Most importantly, the suspect would have to be identified, and considering his track record, that could prove to be extremely challenging. Nonetheless, nothing is impossible.
On January 11, 2024, I posted my Z32 solution to San Francisco Bay Area Zodiac Killer’s Z32 cipher that was mailed to San Francisco Chronicle on June 26, 1970. The following is a breakdown of this solution; how it relates to other communication allegedly sent by the Zodiac, and what logic ties into this solution.
On it’s own, the solution statement, “TAXI FELLOW HAD TO DIE I GAINE BONES GNG” seems odd. Yet, solely based on this information, I was able to easily and quickly locate an unsolved cold case murder of a cab driver that occurred in Spring Valley, California on June 25, 1970; which is the day before the Z32 cipher was sent. In addition, I was able to identify other Zodiac communication that appears related to this solution, which has led me to believe the solution is accurate.
The Z32 cipher was sent in a letter along with the Mount Diablo so-called “bomb” map. It has been alleged this letter was sent by the Zodiac Killer. Numerous pieces of communication were attributed to the Zodiac over the years. Since the Zodiac was never identified, it is not actually known which communication was initiated by the Zodiac, and which was contributed by impostor(s). Nonetheless, it is generally agreed that the Zodiac serial killer was responsible for four attacks, including on three couples and one taxicab driver, resulting in five murders and two attempted murders. One confirmed couple attack occurred in 1968, and the following three confirmed attacks occurred in 1969. The Zodiac allegedly, via communication, laid claim to more.
The Z32 cipher letter, mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on June 26, 1970, included the statement of confession, “I shot a man in a parked car with a .38.“
An interesting point made of the confirmed Zodiac letters by the webmaster of ZodiacCiphers.com, in a “My Riverside Activity” article published on September 30, 2018, is that, “The killer seemed to almost depersonalize the victims, only referring to them as [common nouns]….” but naming “his adversaries” [using proper nouns], such as well-known men or those in power.
In his actions, the Zodiac Killer inflicted more physical damage on his confirmed female victims, who appeared to be his preferred targets. This was also generally agreed upon by Dr. Todd Grande, in his Zodiac Killer Case Analysis, Mental Health & Personality YouTube video of May 13, 2020.
Disclaimer: I allege that any name, including of any suspect or victim, whether famous or not, that shows up or is inferred to in my solution, was by intention or coincidence of the letter writer(s) who claimed or were believed at one time to be the Zodiac. I do not claim to know who is the Zodiac Killer; only he and/or any witnesses and law enforcement would be able to identify him or them. The purpose of this article is only to validate my Z32 cipher solution to my own satisfaction, and disclose this information to anyone interested in this case, cipher or solution. The ‘Zodiac’ for the purposes of simplicity will be referred to as such, being one person (male), whether this in fact be one or more persons, of any sex or identity, real or impostors.
“TAXI FELLOW”
“I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night,” was stated in a ‘This is the Zodiac speaking’ letter mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13, 1969. Enclosed in the letter was a piece of blood-stained shirt that was forensically matched to a homicide victim, identified as confirmed Zodiac victim, Paul Stine. This murder occurred in San Francisco. Stine was a Yellow Cab taxi driver, who was shot in his cab on October 11, 1969.
On June 25, 1970, another male Yellow Cab taxi driver was shot and killed. The victim was found in a field in Spring Valley, according to San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Analysis:
While the exact details of the June 25 murder are unknown, the homicide victim was a male “taxi” driver. He was a Yellow Cab driver; hence he was a “fellow”. The victim was found in a field. Field also begins with the letter ‘f’, and if the victim was shot, he may have fallen down or be considered felled. As ‘yellow’ and ‘fellow’ rhyme; and “fell” is part of “fellow”, this surely seems like ‘humour’ that would appeal to the Zodiac who claimed in the confirmed Z408 cipher solution of 1969: “I like killing people because it is so much fun.”
Although the ‘Paul Stine’ Zodiac confession letter was considered mailed two days after his murder, the wording of the letter indicates Zodiac wrote it the day after the homicide. This coincides with the time frame of one day between the murder and the writing of letters relating to both the Spring Valley victim and the San Francisco victim.
Both the ‘Paul Stine’ Zodiac confession letter and the Z32 cipher ‘Buttons’ letter, including a statement of confession, were sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, according to ZodiacKiller.com.
“Fellow” seems an odd word for Zodiac to use. Nonetheless on page four of the ‘Little List’ letter, mailed on July 26, 1970 (one month to the day of the mailing of the Z32 cipher letter), and also to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Zodiac quoted song lyrics that stated, “I’ve got him on the list. All funny fellows, comic men and clowns of private life. They’d none of them be missed.” In this letter, he also gave himself a score of ‘13‘, which is the same day of the month that the ‘Paul Stine’ confession letter was mailed.
“HAD TO DIE”
The phrase “had to die” was included in each of three letters mailed on April 30, 1967 to Riverside Press-Enterprise (1), victim’s father, Joseph Bates (1), and Riverside Police Department (1), regarding the homicide of Cheri Jo Bates, who is believed to have been murdered on the night of October 30, 1966 and who was found deceased on the morning of October 31, 1966.
Analysis:
In each of these April 1967 letters, the phrase “had to die” followed a proper noun (Bates) or pronoun (she). In 2020, investigators disproved these letters as having been written by the Zodiac or the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates. However, we don’t know who wrote the Z32 cipher, or even if it was written by the Zodiac or an impostor. By June 1970, these letters may have been published and also have been assumed to have been written by the Zodiac, meaning this phrase could have been copied, including by the real Zodiac. Following a common noun denoting sex of a victim “fellow”, “had to die” seems to refer to the ‘Cheri Jo Bates’ letters, and has a similar tone. There is a difference in that the letter writer of the Z32 cipher used common nouns to refer to victims.
“I GAINE BONES”
This phrase absolutely made no sense to me until I researched it, and then it made perfect sense.
Analysis:
According to Wikipedia, to ‘make one’s bones‘ is a gangster American English expression made popular in the book, The Godfather, originally published in 1969. This time frame definitely fits the era of the Zodiac; his propensity for borrowing lines from literature, movies and songs; and his apparent fondness for the letter ‘G’, as in ‘Godfather’ and ‘gain’.
The “I” pronoun was used frequently in Zodiac communication, including in the confirmed solutions to both the Z408 and Z340 ciphers. It was also used in the Z32 letter, in the sentence, “I shot a man….”
“Gaine” with an extra ‘e’ also fits the Zodiac’s grammar style of leaving or adding the letter ‘e’ to words, where it doesn’t belong. “Gaine” most nearly matches the Zodiac’s use of ‘evere’ in the Pleasanton ‘This is the Zodiac speaking’ letter mailed March 13, 1971 to Los Angeles Times, which stated, “If the Blue Meannies [sic] are evere [sic] going to catch me….”
“Bones” were referred to in the ‘Secret Pal’ Halloween card, mailed on October 27, 1970, to Paul Avery at San Francisco Chronicle, which stated in a preprinted verse, “I feel it in my bones….” It should be noted that Donna Lass went missing on September 6, 1970, and that her skull, confirmed via DNA analysis in 2023, was found in 1986 in Sierra Nevada. Mount Diablo, which overlooks this location, was pinpointed in a map included with the Z32 cipher. The Zodiac allegedly mailed on March 22, 1971 a ‘Sierra Club’ card to Paul Averly [sic] of the San Francisco Chronicle that may have identified the location her skull was found in 1986, although law enforcement have not identified Donna Lass as a Zodiac victim. It should be noted that Kathleen Johns was abducted on March 22, 1970, and that Mount Diablo, the lookout point noted in the map sent with the Z32 cipher, overlooks Sierra Nevada. Donna Lass had gone missing following her shift at the Sahara Tahoe casino in Stateline, Nevada, and was reported missing from South Lake Tahoe, California, where she newly resided.
“GNG”
All four of the Zodiac ciphers are believed to contain a code to identify the name of the sender. This could be the sender’s actual name, a name by which they self-identify, the name of someone they are attempting to frame, or a name they consider to be a ‘joke’. It should be noted that the Zodiac was in the habit of naming men who had some type of local celebrity-like status.
Analysis:
If you join up the leftover symbols in the code that can not be attributed to anything, in order, they spell “GNG”.
The victim of June 25, 1970 was found near two intersecting streets, which both start with a “G” name. These streets were Galopago Street and Saint George Street. In the ‘Paul Stines’ letter, the Zodiac named the intersection with a ‘+’ sign, which also stands for the ampersand, meaning ‘and’. Another way to write ‘and’ is ” ‘n’ “. Therefore, “GNG” could represent “Galopago ‘n’ George” Streets; whereas ‘Saint’ is a title and not a name.
My 2020 end solution to the ‘My Name is…’ Z13 cipher was ‘N Gillett’. In 2020, an internet search of ‘N Gillett’ brought up as a first result, ‘George Nield Gillett Jr’, who was born in 1938, and has had connections to the California area since the 1960’s. As it happens, “GNG” are the initials for this name. ‘George Gillett’ and ‘G Neild Gillett’ are both 13 characters in length. There are three George Neild Gillett’s born into this rich American Navy / medical / business / sports / snow-resort family, the latter born in January 1970. The Z13 cipher of April 20, 1970 had three 8-ball symbols, which had been thought by some to represent a birth year. The June 26, 1970 Z32 cipher letter, which contains 32 characters, includes a statement about a ‘.38’, assumed to be a .38 Special revolver. Someone born in 1938, would become 32 years old in 1970.
In my multitiered Z13 solution, a missing letter ‘e’ from ‘name’ in a decoding step was added to complete the final surname of ‘Gillett’. In my Z32 solution, additional “a’s” were implied in the code solution. If you add ‘A’ to “GNG” you get ‘gang’, which makes more relevant the phrase “I GAINE BONES”.
Further Analysis of My Z32 Solution to Follow
Following in another post will be the “Z32 Cipher Code Breakdown to My Solution”. Regarding the homicide of the Spring Valley Yellow Cab driver, I will also theorize, “Was the 1970 Murder of Larry Hargis Planned?”
The Z32 cipher was mailed June 26, 1970 to the San Francisco Chronicle as a jab to the San Francisco Police Department. My January 2024 solution to this cipher is…
“TAXI FELLOW HAD TO DIE I GAINE BONES GNG”
~Skyanna Jameson solution to Z32 Cipher, Zodiac Killer
The Z32 cipher appears related to my solution to the Z13 cipher, and could be referring to the unsolved cold case murder of a Yellow Cab taxi driver in Spring Valley, California, which occurred in the predawn hours of June 25, 1970. The male cabbie was found deceased on the 800th block of Galopago Street, near Saint George Street. A statement made in the Z32 letter was, “I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38.” The Z13 cipher included three circled number 8’s in the code. It should be noted that, according to Wikipedia, the Colt Official Police double-action revolver, was chambered for the .38 Special cartridge. The Z32 cipher was mailed the day after this murder.
Unsolved Cold Case from Spring Valley, CA
According to San DiegoCounty Sheriff’s Homicide Detail, a cab driver was shot and found in a field. If this murder is related to Z32, the field location could be an inference to the Kathleen Johns abduction, which allegedly occurred on the night of March 22, 1970, and after which the pregnant victim said she escaped with her 10-month-old baby girl by running into a field. In this abduction, the female victim’s car keys were taken; and in the Spring Valley murder of the cab driver, his cab was moved. It is not clear what gun was used to shoot the cab driver, and unknown if he was ever shot in a vehicle prior to his death. It should be noted that the murder of Cheri Jo Bates had a number of similarities with the abduction of Kathleen Johns.
Whether or not the person who sent the Zodiac Killer Z32 cipher letter could be responsible for the cab driver murder on June 25, may depend on what was released to the media about the murder on or prior to the time that the Zodiac Killer Z32 cipher letter was sent on June 26. It should be noted that concerning the confirmed Zodiac attack of Paul Stine, in a letter sent to media, dated two days after the attack, he stated he had killed the San Francisco Yellow Cab driver “last night”, meaning he also wrote that letter the day following the murder. In addition, the wallet of Paul Stine was missing, as was the wallet of the Spring Valley cab driver. It is unknown if the same “Zodiac” was responsible for all the communication attributed to him. Nonetheless, whether or not the Zodiac or letter writer is actually responsible for the Spring Valley murder, I believe it’s possible he was referring to it, because of the map he included with Z32.
The Z32 Cipher in “Buttons” Letter, Including Mount Diablo Map
The Mount Diablo “bomb” map, sent with the Z32 cipher, I believe refers to Three Springs staging area (hiking trails) and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. The Zodiac fancied himself a wordsmith and jokester, so it is not clear what he meant by the word “bomb”, which has a number of meanings. If, by the map, he is referring to hiking trails, this could also be related to the skull of Donna Lass, confirmed via DNA analysis in 2023 and found in 1986, about 16 years after she went missing from the South Lake Tahoe area; and whose case remains unsolved. Mount Diablo, visible from the San Francisco Bay Area, where confirmed Zodiac murders occurred, also overlooks the natural mountain area of Sierra Nevada where the skull of Donna Lass was found.
Z32 Ties to Other Alleged (or not) Zodiac Killer Correspondence
In my opinion, there are some indications that the Z13 cipher, the Z32 cipher, the Mount Diablo map, and the murder of the cabbie in Spring Valley all include references to the games of basketball, baseball, and/or football.
Via my solution to Z32, strong connections to other communication attributed to the Zodiac (or not) include the December 1966 Riverside City College Library (RCC) “Desk-top” poem (code links; solution link), the April 30, 1967 Riverside “Cheri Jo Bates” letters (solution phrase copied); the April 20, 1970 “My Name Is…” letter including the Z13 cipher (solution link); the July 24, 1970 San Francisco “Kathleen Johns” letter; the July 26, 1970 San Francisco “Little List” letter (solution link); the March 13, 1971 Pleasanton Los Angeles Times letter (solution link); the March 22, 1971 San Francisco “Sierra Club” card; the July 8, 1974 San Rafael “CC Red Phantom” letter (code link); and the December 1990 Eureka “Secret Pal” card.
My solution to Z32, the cipher mailed June 26, 1970 in San Francisco, also implies a strong connection (via solution links) to (a) the June 18, 1970 Vallejo “Gift from Zodiac” letter received by G Tagert and including two tickets for an Oakland A‘s baseball game two days later for June 20, 1970; and (b) the June 29, 1972Navato “Death Threat” letter received by sports editor and baseball fan, E Salima. I would consider it highly likely that the sender of this above-mentioned correspondence is the same person who wrote the Z32 letter, with cipher and Mount Diablo map, or at very least had knowledge of my 2024 solution to Z32 (officially considered unsolved), my 2024 basic solution to the Mount Diablo map (officially considered unsolved), my 2020 solution to Z13 (officially considered unsolved), the 1969 confirmed solution to Z408, officially considered solved & published in 1969; and details in the Spring Valley cabbie murder, which may or may not have been published before the time the Z32 letter was mailed. There is also one factor in my solution to suggest that this same person could have had knowledge of the solution to the Z340 cipher, mailed November 8, 1969 in San Francisco, and officially considered solved & published in 2020.
My Analysis of Z32 Cipher to follow
Following in another post will be my more-detailed analysis of Z32, how I arrived at this solution and my reasoning for why I believe it’s valid.
UPDATE: On October 3, 2023, it was reported via People magazine, that Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) had removed mom and her three kids from “local and national missing persons databases”. The police stated the foursome were out-of-state; and law enforcement, through surveillance footage and video calls, had determined they were “safe and not under any type of duress”. The missing persons reports had been closed, said FCSO.
Without any indication of whether or not “missing” mother, Lauren Elizabeth Tousa Cook, of Ferrum, Virginia, currently had her children in her custody, The Messenger–a new digital media company based in West Palm Beach, Florida–reported that Lauren Cook stated her children, still listed as missing with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, were “safe”.
It was not (immediately) known whether Lauren and her husband, Jordan Cook, were interviewed via telephone and/or email for the publication’s article of September 27; and in that article, the reporter did not specify how they confirmed they knew they were “speaking” to Lauren Cook. On September 28, however, The Messenger released an “interview” video. On September 29, ABC13 News said Lauren Cook “called” them, and their “interview was conducted over an app that can’t be tracked and began with a video call to confirm her identity”. The interview with ABC13 also included Jordan Cook, and same and/or similar statements were made.
The September 27 article about Lauren Cook included photos of Lauren provided by her husband–who may not have seen her since late August–and included possibly dated photos: one of Lauren in a hairstyle she was sporting in May; one of Lauren in a home kitchen (similar to one seen in a September 20 New York Post article photo, originally submitted by Jordan Cook via WSET) shown with two of her three children; and one of Lauren wearing a “Mount Zion Seed Co-op” T-shirt, in (what appeared to be) a shop (possibly theirs in Boones Mill, Virginia).
Stating that Lauren was interviewed on “Wednesday”, when a child and adult abuse complaint against the Cook household was allegedly dropped, although this was not confirmed by the Virginia Department of Social Services, the breaking news article was published on the evening of Wednesday, September 27.
Video of Lauren
In a follow-up article published by The Messenger and dated September 28, a video of a laptop or tablet playing a portrait-style video of Lauren Cook was presented, presumably as evidence of Lauren. The “original” video displaying a background of red brick, showed Lauren wearing a dark blue, patterned top; jewellery on the middle and ring fingers of one hand; and contained some details stated by Lauren that had been reported in The Messenger article dated September 27: for example, that an abuse allegation made, included the possibility she had Stockholm syndrome. In the “evidence” video, the “original” video seemed choppy, and appeared to have been edited. While it is not known when either video was recorded, Lauren stated in hers, that “the [family court] case was dropped”. In the displayed video, Lauren indicated that during their “vacation”, the “missing” foursome visited both family and friends, and her children had been taken to “parks, playgrounds, and splash pads”. However, no children appeared, or were heard on the video, which was about nine minutes in length.
Additionally, a spokesperson for Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, had previously stated to mainstream media that, “A reported phone call, phone ping, photo, video, audio, etc. is not sufficient to clear the missing persons alert out of the system.” Via their Facebook page, and after Lauren’s video was made public, police also maintained that, “regardless of any circumstances…true or false”, law enforcement must confirm the foursome is “okay and not under duress” before the mother and children will be removed from missing persons’ local and national databases.
Regarding the sensitive nature of the Cook family’s ordeal (threat of having kids taken away by authorities, and being a subject of online gossip), Lauren stated that she was “going through an extremely stressful situation”, in which she was experiencing a “whole gamut of emotion[s]”, the main one being “fear” and including “working through…a lot of anger”.
Labor Day Vacation Trip
The Messenger reported that Lauren Cook stated the Department of Social Services’ investigators showed up at her Ferrum, Virginia residence on August 28 to interview her children. As of Wednesday, September 27, the last (public) post on “Mt Lion Seed Cooperative” Facebook page was dated August 27. The last (public) post on Lauren Tousa’s Facebook profile was dated August 26. Lauren told The Messenger that on or around August 28, she left Ferrum to visit family, and that within two days, she was told by neighbours that police had attended her residence, and at some later point returned to issue an “emergency order” to remove her children. It is not clear if the children were still at the residence at that time, or if authorities ever actually spoke to the children. However, in her video, Lauren stated that her children “didn’t really know anything about the situation” , and that she “didn’t feel it was something they needed to be informed about”.
In the USA, Labor Day fell on Monday, September 4, 2023, and during the pre-weekend trip that Lauren said she made with her children. The first scheduled family court date that police said was not attended by Lauren and her children, was set for Tuesday, September 5–at which time, Lauren was previously reported to have contacted family to say she was in New York; a state where The Messenger, founded by James Finkelstein and launched in May 2023, also holds an office. While it is unknown where Lauren allegedly stayed in New York, a trip from Ferrum, Virginia to New York City, New York by car is around eight to twelve hours of continuous travel, according to Google Maps, and depending on route taken. Making frequent stops would have considerably lengthened travel time, and Lauren may have had four days to arrive in time for Labor Day weekend. However, according to prior reports from police, her phone last pinged in Lexington, Kentucky on September 7, which could have meant that she travelled back through Virginia, her state of residence, after the alleged New York trip, before reaching Litchfield, Illinois, where police later confirmed the foursome had stayed overnight on or around September 13. Lauren and her children were reported missing on September 13, 2023 by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, after a second family court date on the same day was missed by the foursome. A family court date set for Wednesday, September 20 was also missed.
Having stated on her public Facebook profile in July, that she had anxiety, Lauren told The Messenger that having [authorities] take away her kids was “not…an option”. While her mother, Lisa Tousa, believed to reside in North Carolina, had previously reported that Lauren was five months pregnant, Lauren had declined to confirm her pregnancy during her interview. According to The Messenger, Lauren was “not sure when she would come forward to police”.
Though Lauren told The Messenger that her Labor Day weekend trip was “pre-planned”, she additionally stated that the situation–during which time a national search effort was launched by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, and she missed three family court appearances with her three children–“messed with our business and I had to use up a lot of our savings”. Via an online crowdfunding organization, displaying the photos provided by police to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and organized by Lauren Tousa (the name used on Lauren Cook’s Facebook profile) the fund is currently seeking support to “help care for” Lauren Cook and her children. At the time of this writing, the fund had raised $35 of its $25K goal.
Allegations of Abuse
Lauren told The Messenger that in late August, a complaint against her husband, Jordan Cook, and including the Ferrum, Virginia household, which The Messenger reported included “allegations of [serious] child abuse and neglect, drug use and mental illness”, had been filed with authorities by an unknown party. The Messenger reported that the Cooks’ stated the complaint was dropped at a “Wednesday hearing”, although it is not clear whether that hearing date was September 20 or 27. Police had previously stated that Jordan Cook had attended all three family court dates (of September 5, 13 and 20) sans his “missing” family.
While Jordan Cook told The Messenger that “my wife and I have been slandered and defamed”, it is unclear by whom, as police had maintained that family court records involving juveniles were confidential, and mainstream media had not reported on any abuse.
An “investigator” on “X” published posts, regarding this missing persons case, from the Cooks’ business’ private Instagram account, the link of which appears on the web site for Mount Zion Seed Cooperative, and believed to be run by Jordan Cook.
Cannabis Business and Residence
It is not known if the Cooks’ own their current residence in Ferrum, Virginia, live with anyone else in their household, or if the claimed allegations brought forth by Virginia Department of Social Services regarding the Cooks’ residence, included anyone other than the Cooks. It is also not known if any business is conducted at the residence.
On September 19, An “investigative” Youtuber on X had previously published a street name in Ferrum, Virginia which he indicated was the location of the Cooks’ residence. The web site for “Mount Zion Seed Cooperative”, and Google Maps, lists the business as being in Boones Mill, Virginia, at the physical location that Lauren Tousa (Facebook) had referred to as “the shop”. However, public business records searched in September had failed to come up with a match for that business name. Listed in Ferrum in September was a similar “grow and consulting” business name, with a publicly-listed principal office address, matching the residential street name published by the Youtuber, and confirming the business type mentioned by The Messenger, as being run by the Cooks.
This residential address is listed in multiple online public property records as a being a 2-bedroom, 1-bath home on a two-acre lot. According to same records, owning and/or residing at this address (or having done so at some point), is a now 42-year-old male, with a different name and surname than Lauren’s husband, and who is also publicly listed at another address in Ferrum, Virginia.
The physical location of “Mount Zion Seed Cooperative” is the same as what is listed online for “Appalachian Mtn. Supply Co. LLC” which had a publicly-listed principal office address in Ferrum that differed from all the other above residential and business addresses. On April 13, the Facebook page for the mountain supply company, publicly advised in a post that “Mt Zion Seed Cooperative” would be “taking over the whole store” and “rebranding with a new name”. The “Origin Story” on the seed cooperative web site mentioned that the original business, (currently) for-profit, which was started in Utah in 2012, had seven founders, of which two were brothers, with “Jordan” being the “visionary” behind the company. It is not known who else is currently involved in the Cooks’ business, but The Messenger reported Lauren as stating she believed that a “disgruntled business partner” or family member could have been responsible for making complaints to Virginia Department of Social Services.
Child and Adult Protection Services
As per the web site for Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), child abuse/neglect is reported to Child Protection Services (CPS), and adult abuse is reported to Adult Protection Services (APS). Lauren Cook told The Messenger that along with child abuse claims, it was reported she may also be in a vulnerable state at her Ferrum, Virigina home.
According to Social Services, they field calls regarding children from “the general public, child care providers, school educators and medical professionals.” As well, “APS investigates reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults aged 60 and over and incapacitated adults over 18 years of age and provides services when persons are found to be in need of protective services.” Additionally, regarding adults, they state that, “The goal of APS is to protect a vulnerable adult’s life, health, and property without a loss of liberty. When this is not possible, APS attempts to provide assistance with the least disruption of life style and with full due process, protection, and restoration of the person’s liberty in the shortest possible period of time.” VDSS fields calls from both within Virginia and from out-of-state.
Sex Offenders in Virginia
No offenders are known to reside at or in the location of the Cooks’ assumed residence. The Virginia State Police maintains a Virginia state sex registry database, which is searchable to the public online. According to StateRecords.org, which claims “[not to] ensure that information is correct, comprehensive or current”, “Sex offenders in Virginia may live with family unless the court makes a particular disposition regarding living with children and the family contains children.”
What Action will now be taken by authorities?
At the time of this writing, Lauren Elizabeth Cook, age 30 (adult female companion to), children Benjamin Cook, age 7, male; Hannah Cook, age 5, female; and Elijah Cook, age 2, male, were still listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Research: This article contains considerable information that was independently researched; either attributed and/or listed in “Sources” below. Note: For privacy, some sourced information was not listed (i.e. re public records).
Important: At the time of this publication, no one has been known to have been named a suspect or person of interest in this missing persons case.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article was pieced together from various sources, including assorted media reports; various web sites including of businesses, organizations, and governments; public records, social media; and is believed to be as accurate as possible. If you have anything additional to provide, have a question, or wish to request a correction, please comment below or contact the author. In cases of discrepancies in details provided by various sources, the most reliable or reasonable source of information–in the opinion of the author–was used. The purposes of this article are to inform with respect, keep track of records and progress, keep memories alive, maintain a human element, and provide, without bias, details which could assist in the finding of the (possibly endangered) Missing Person(s). We are not liable for errors in sourced information or opinions, attributed to other parties.
“Missing Children” (poster for Cook children-3, companion adult-1), unknown date, listed as missing since September 5, 2023, (c) National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Retrieved September 29, 2023 from https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/2000764/3.
“Report Abuse or Neglect”, date unknown, (c) 2023 Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS). Retrieved September 28, 2023 from https://www.dss.virginia.gov/about/abuse.cgi.
“Search Missing Children Posters” database, unknown date, (c) National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Accessed September 29, 2023 from https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/search.
In September 2023, it was reported by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, that Lauren Elizabeth Tousa Cook, 30, female, 5’1″, who has brown eyes and long brown hair, was missing along with her three blond(e)-haired, small children: Benjamin, 7, male, who has blue eyes; Hannah, 5, female, who has brown eyes; Elijah, 2, male, who has blue eyes. According to police, the investigation began on September 13, and family court dates of September 5, 13, and 20 at scheduled (confidential) court appearances in Franklin County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court were not attended by the four missing family members. It was reported that Lauren’s husband, Jordan Cook, shown on an undated, circulating media photo as having brown hair and a beard, had attended all three court dates in Franklin County. The couple have three children, and it was reported by her mother, Lisa Tousa, that Lauren is five months pregnant. The three children are listed as missing on the National Database for Missing and Exploited Children, along with (adult) companion, Lauren Elizabeth Cook, on their missing posters complete with NCIC (National Crime Information Center) filenames.
Numerous media outlets quoted Jordan as saying he was unconcerned with the well-being of his family members, believed they were safe, and did not consider them missing. However, according to police, the four will be considered missing until in-person contact is made with law enforcement.
Police have stated that they do not believe Lauren Cook and her children are in Franklin County. Media have reported that the couple resided in southwest Virginia, in the town of Ferrum. In 2010, the population of Ferrum was around 2K; and according to Wikipedia, in a year 2000 census, the population was 80.81% white, and 0.23% Native American.
On September 14, police advised that the foursome were confirmed to have had been in Litchfield, Illinois, but it was believed that they left the area on September 13 or around September 14, and that they were there for one night only.
Police told media that there was no ‘recent’ bank activity on Lauren Cook’s accounts, and her cell phone last pinged in Lexington, Kentucky, on September 7. On September 19, police stated there was (still) no contact with Lauren after September 5 or 6, when she contacted family. On September 22, an update by a police spokesperson informed that both Lauren’s mother and husband told investigators they had contact with Lauren on September 20, when she advised them she was ‘okay’, but no location was given.
Where is Lauren Cook?
Police have stated that the missing Lauren Elizabeth Tousa Cook has ties to numerous states in the USA. It was reported that on September 5, Lauren Cook had made a call to her mother, Lisa Tousa, to say she was in New York visiting family. It is unknown if she was actually there or not. Lauren is believed to have been travelling in a 2013 blue Chrysler van with Virginia licence plates.
Doula Services
In 2017, on a services network profile and a linked blog, a female, matching the visual description of Lauren Cook, and named Lauren Tousa Cook, offered her services as a prenatal and postpartum doula, who was certified through International Doula Institute. These services were offered at-home to the pregnant client, to facilitate the birthing process, before and after birth, and included providing housework and preparing meals. Calling herself, the Lavender Doula (not an original trade name), she claimed the following:
To live in Provo, Utah, and to have ties to the following states: born in Texas, grew up in North Carolina, studied in Utah, lived in both Oregon and Utah with her husband.
To, along with her husband and ‘friend’, under a nonprofit “dedicated to helping people get medicine and food”, be a member/organizer of a branch of the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC); who, on Facebook, has a branch in New York, and has listed on their web site, a private branch in Utah, under ONAC of Bear River Idaho; an ONAC of Southern Virginia (Crewe), and an ONAC of Utah. The church has rules on “What to do When Approached by Law Enforcement,” while carrying ‘sacred medicine’. Notes: (a) In January 29, 1863, the Bear River Massacre occurred when the United States Army attacked a Shoshone tribe encampment, causing grievous injuries to the Shoshone people. (b) The Facebook link to Lauren’s branch name, “Mount Zion”, is not working, nor is it currently listed as a ‘branch in good standing’ on the ONAC web site. According to the ONAC web site, branches not listed “may be fraudulent or out of compliance with our basic values”. It is not known if “Mount Zion” ever existed as a branch of ONAC in 2017.
To have a husband named Jordan, a son named Benjamin, and be pregnant (in 2017).
To have a hound-pitbull X (male) dog named “Squanto”, which was adopted as a puppy in Oregon from a neighbour who was offering free puppies.
To not have a, or watch (much) television.
To have the hobbies and interests of reading, cooking, nature, arts [and crafts], gardening, and homesteading.
The Facebook link to ‘Lavender Doula Lauren’ is no longer available, so it is not known if she is still offering services as a doula.
The Lavender Doula in 2017, wrote a few blog posts on pregnancy, including one on overcoming postpartum depression during wintertime and mentioning seasonal affective disorder (SAD). By her writing, it appeared she may have struggled with it herself (at times).
Social Media
A Facebook profile for Lauren Tousa, displaying the same photo as in the missing report for Lauren Elizabeth Tousa Cook, and showing regular public updates since October 2022–including photos of her homemade meals, some said to be made with garden produce–has not been updated (to the public) since August 26, 2023. She appeared to have stayed local to Virginia, liked Floyd County, and promoted a health spa in Roanoke. In a post about the spa, she stated that she had anxiety.
On her profile, Lauren shares posts from a mountain supply company that shares posts from “Mt Zion Seed Cooperative”, located in Boones Mill, Virginia.
Located in Franklin County, within Blue Ridge Mountains, Boones Mill is “part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area”.
Mount Zion Seed Cooperative
A cannabis seed business, which labels themselves as “an entheogenic apothecary and nursery”, and who claims a man named “Jordan” is its “visionary”–while displaying a photo of a (nearing) middle-aged man with long brown hair and beard, holding a marijuana leaf in front of his face–stated it got its start in 2012 as an illegal basement grow-op in Provo, Utah. The business stated that the ex-wife of one of the seven founding members reported the grow-op, which resulted in the conviction of that member, after which the cooperative moved “its base of operations” to Oregon, where it expanded via breeding–although it stated it was raided in 2016 by Klamath County Police, whom they claim Taser-ed their dog, and somehow involved Oklahoma in 2019. It stated that (around) 2017, some co-op members faced charges, which were eventually dropped at trial. In Proctor, presumably Oklahoma, some seemingly extensive (outdoor) “farming” of open-pollinated plants occurred during 2019-2021.
The current for-profit business calls cannabis “medicine”, displays organic seeds, and states they “still offer free seeds to anyone who is unable to afford them”.
On Google Maps Street View, the address given on the web site for Mount Zion Seed Cooperative shows a side entrance photo taken in April 2023 to a building with the name of “Appalachian Mtn. Supply Co.”
Public Records
According to online voting records, a Lauren Elizabeth Tousa and a Jordan Frederick Cook were both registered to vote in Provo, Utah, at the same home address, which is listed as a two-bedroom bungalow with a basement.
An online public records directory, has a Lauren Elizabeth Tousa, being now 30 years old, female, and born on September 14, listed as living (at some point) in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the same address as a Lisa V Tousa, female, now being 59 years old.
Contact Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
While going missing is technically not against the law, her mother and law enforcement have reasonable concerns for the safety of Lauren Elizabeth Tousa Cook and her children: Benjamin Cook, Hannah Cook, and Elijah Cook. Anyone having knowledge of their whereabouts is asked to immediately contact Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 540-483-3000 or your local law enforcement.
State of Emergency issued by Governor of Virginia
A State of Emergency was issued on September 22, 2023, by the governor for Friday, September 22, 2023 to Sunday, September 24, due to expected severe flooding and tropical storm impacts. It is not known whether or not Lauren Cook was in, or had planned to travel (back) to Virginia during this time, and/or if the storm affected Ferrum.
The East coast Tropical Storm Ophelia, made landfall in North Carolina on Saturday, September 23, causing downed trees and power outages. Parts of southern Virginia received heavy rain, and New York City had issued a weekend travel advisory. Other states were also affected.
Research: This article contains considerable information that was independently researched; either attributed and/or listed in “Sources” below. Note: For privacy, some sourced information was not listed (i.e. re public records).
Important: At the time of this publication, no one has been known to have been named a suspect or person of interest in this missing persons case.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article was pieced together from various sources, including assorted media reports; various web sites including of businesses, organizations, and governments; public records, social media; and is believed to be as accurate as possible. If you have anything additional to provide, have a question, or wish to request a correction, please comment below or contact the author. In cases of discrepancies in details provided by various sources, the most reliable or reasonable source of information–in the opinion of the author–was used. The purposes of this article are to inform with respect, keep track of records and progress, keep memories alive, maintain a human element, and provide, without bias, details which could assist in the finding of the (possibly endangered) Missing Person(s). We are not liable for errors in sourced information or opinions, attributed to other parties.
Unfortunately, phone trace information provided in October, 2021, was deemed by police to not be credible or helpful to the case. Other social media data associated with Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties was also not useful in advancing the case, they said.
End of Police Update
Map of Hillsborough County in Florida, USA.
Veronica’s Missing Smartphone
Veronica’s missing phone is a Samsung Galaxy A20. Her phone was never found. During two months in September through November 2021, a web site traced her phone number to an area within a few blocks in Plant City North, in the neighbourhood of Washington Park.
It was noted by family members that Veronica’s phone had been disconnected from its service provider for some time. It is not known if her phone number was reassigned to another party. As is typical practice of telecommunications companies, phone numbers may be recycled by service providers. Veronica’s previous service provider, AT&T, admitted via an AT&T Community Specialist on their online community forum, to engage in this practice.
However, one family member had stated they continued to call Veronica’s number well after she went missing, and still call it to this day.
Phone Tracking
How Cellular Phones are Tracked
Safe Online (Nigeria) explained that three methods of tracking cellular phone location are using (1) wireless signals to triangulate position between cell towers, (2) GPS (Global Positioning System) radio to pinpoint location and (3) Wi-Fi hot spot to approximate position. Setting your phone to “Airplane Mode” will turn off your phone’s cellular and Wi-Fi radios, and sometimes disable your GPS radio and Bluetooth, as well as stop your phone from sending or receiving voice calls and text messages, stated Business Insider. On Android, you can “Delete Location History” and turn off “Location Reporting”. Using Airplane mode and disabling location data may cause some apps and functions not to work. If you do not need to use your phone at all, removing its battery will ensure your phone can not be tracked.
How Devices Are “Found”
In general, to find a lost or stolen device, it is helpful for the device to be on, connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi, and have location feature permissions enabled. Installing certain apps ahead of time, can also assist in finding a device later.
One way that could assist in finding a missing person, is locating their smartphone or identifying where their phone has been. If someone goes missing, their phone might be missing with them.
Google, Find My Android Device
Google Support gives instructions here on how to set up your Android device so that it can be found if lost. Once complete, you can find your device by following the instructions here. When you sign into your Google account, you must provide access to connection events, device information and location data. Note that Google warns, “Device location is approximate, and may not always be accurate.” To access the feature by logging into your account, your e-mail address must be linked to your device (e.g. Samsung Galaxy A20 smartphone). Other options are making your phone ring loudly or locking it to protect your phone’s content.
According to Veronica’s father, Veronica had set up her phone so that it could be tracked with Google. It had shown up in the area of her home on the weekend she had vanished, and was no longer visible sometime on Monday, January 20, 2020.
The same Google feature that finds your phone can also be used to remotely wipe your phone’s data. However, if you access the feature to wipe your phone’s data, your phone can no longer be located via the feature.
Google Support: Android Help: (online) Help Center, states you can find, lock or erase your lost Android device, if your phone meets all the following conditions: your phone has “Location” and “Find My Device” features turned on, your phone is visible on “Google Play”; your phone is turned on, signed into a Google account and connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi.
Google Maps
You may be able to find your phone by using Google Maps on your PC (personal computer). You can open Google Maps here. If you are not signed in to your Google account, you can open another browser window and sign into the Gmail account linked to your Android, or click the Google profile icon (upper-right corner of page) to “Add” another account. Click the “Menu” icon (upper-left corner of page) and select “Your timeline” from the drop-down menu. If you are not already signed in to a Google account, you will be prompted to sign in now. You can then choose a date you wish to check for location, and scroll through dates. This will only work if you have “Location History” turned on. If off, you will have no data, but will have the option to “Manage Location History” via button (lower left corner of page). Your phone will also have to have been turned on and connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi to view a location.
Samsung, “Find My Mobile”
If you have registered a Samsung account, you can also locate your Samsung phone by using “Find My Mobile“. As with Google, you can make it ring, display a message, block your phone or delete your data. In addition, you can access a list of called numbers, which could help you to find your phone. You can also forward your calls so that no one else, who has your phone, can answer them. If you have the purchase receipt for your phone, you can have your phone blocked and blacklisted so that it can not be used by someone else.
In September 2020, Komando.com reported about a new feature recently added to Samsung’s “Find My Mobile” app, called “Offline Finding”, which can find your phone if it is offline and turned off. If the Offline Finding feature is enabled, it allows your phone to scan for nearby lost Galaxy devices, and also allows other Galaxy devices to scan for your lost phone.
“Where’s My Droid” App
Where’s My Droid is a find-your-phone app that “uses your GPS to find your device’s location on a map”. Basic signup service is free or for “elite” service, a monthly (under $1 per month) or yearly (under $9 per year) subscription is available. Free service includes locate by GPS, ring feature, SIM card removal alert and wipe SD (Secure Digital) card data. Paid service includes activate camera, geofencing to activate features if your phone leaves a confined area, and location tracking.
IMEI Number
In the case of theft, and if you know the unique 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number for your phone, you can report it as missing. “Phone carriers and manufacturers share IMEI numbers to enable tracking of smartphones that may be stolen or compromised.”
To access the IMEI number on your Samsung, go to your home screen, pretend you are making a phone call and use your keypad to enter the characters “*#06#”. Both the IMEI number and Serial Number (SN) will show up on your screen. You can then take a screenshot and transfer the file to another device, in case you ever need it. You may be able to find your phone’s IMEI number and SN on a label near or behind your phone’s battery. These numbers are also displayed with the barcodes on the original sales box for your phone. Another way to view your IMEI number on your Android phone is via your “Settings”: “About Phone”: “Status”: “IMEI information”. You should see your IMEI number, which you can write down, and (SV) software version number. Under “Status” will also be your phone’s “Serial Number”.
Ctia, a trade association operating in the United States (US) which represents the wireless communications industry, allows US consumers to check up to five IMEI numbers per day against their database here. The two missing iPhones belonging to missing person, Kelly Vazquez of Valrico, who disappeared in May, 2021, were located by being reported stolen. Unfortunately, however, Kelly is still missing.
It is generally agreed that your wireless carrier has your IMEI number. According to MakeTechEasier.com, if you are a prepaid customer, your IMEI number is not tied to your account. However, technology expert, Miguel Leiva-Gomez, stated, “If you have a contract with a mobile carrier, the [police] could use a search warrant to access your IMEI information for number and location tracking.” Police can also use GPS to track the location of your phone.
Veronica’s father had previously stated he did not have the identifying numbers for Veronica’s new phone as they could not find the box. While it is not known if police obtained her phone’s IMEI and SIN numbers, it had been reported that the FBI had looked into phone records in Veronica’s case.
Police Tracking of Mobile Phones
Wireless phone locations are frequently used to find users of those phones; for example, when an emergency response team is needed to respond to a scene.
As explained by Techwalla, phones that are turned on, register with wireless carriers and maintain connections with several nearby cell towers. Triangulation software can evaluate signal strength from each tower to estimate distance. This can “estimate the geographic position of the phone on a three-dimensional plane”. In urban areas, where cell towers are closer together, the triangulation area may be searchable. However, in rural and remote areas, where cell towers are spaced farther apart, the triangulation area could be quite large.
Newer phones, using a Global Positioning System (GPS), rely on “very precise signals from 12 or more satellites in low-Earth orbit”. This can substantially shrink the search area for the phone. The phone uses location software, running in the background, to report its location back to the wireless service provider.
Missing Female Found with “Find My iPhone” App
Wikipedia reported that, “In January 2019, the location of her iPhone as determined by her sister helped Boston police find kidnapping victim, [23-year-old] Olivia Ambrose.” NBC Boston reported that Olivia’s sister used the “Find My iPhone” app to approximate her location. Police used her phone’s digital trail along with business and home security street surveillance camera footage, eyewitness account(s), and footwork to locate the victim, who was being held hostage by a male in a local housing complex. The victim’s phone was actively in use and had been used to text her mother, although the “horrified” victim said it had been taken from her by her captor.
Olivia had gone missing during the night of Saturday, January 19, into the early hours of Sunday, January 20. She was found alive on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.
Microsoft, “Find My Device“
With a Microsoft account, and if your device’s location is turned on, you can find your Windows 10 device with the “Find My Device” feature, by logging in here. However, this feature does not work with Android or iOS devices, or Xbox One consoles. Note that when you attempt to find your device, users of your device will see a notification on screen.
Finding a Dead Phone
It is believed by family members that Veronica’s Samsung phone ran out of battery power sometime on Monday, January 20, 2020. Track the last location of a dead Android phone, via Google’s “Find My Device” app, by signing into your Google account linked to your missing dead device. According to Veronica’s father, the last location of her phone was where she went missing, in the area of her residence at Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park. To find a dead iPhone, follow instructions here.
Other Identifying Numbers
The ICCID (Integrated Circuit Card Identifier) is your SIM card’s globally unique serial number, an 18- to 22-digit number, which can not be altered in any way. It can also help you distinguish between SIM cards in a multi-SIM card phone. The ICCID number is stored on your SIM card, and may be printed on it or included in its packaging material.
Your IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) number is stored on your SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card. If you have more than one SIM card, each has its own IMSI number. If you update your phone(s), you still keep or retain your SIM cards. While there is no guarantee your information will be completely erased, it is possible to delete data on a SIM card via Android or by using specialized software.
Your MSISDN (Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network) number is your mobile phone number, in its entirety, including your area and country codes, and it allows a device to be called.
The visitor location register (VLR) database stores your IMSI/MSISDN numbers with your subscriber information.
IMSI-Catchers
A device that can catch and surveil IMSI numbers of nearby cellphones is called an IMSI-catcher, or StingRay and stingray (generic name), and is sometimes used by law enforcement. Their use without a warrant in Florida, however, has been ruled unconstitutional in at least one case (Florida v. Sylvestre, 2018). The Intercept, an adversarial journalism news organization, which reports on surveillance and technology, describes how IMSI-catchers work, possible applications in law enforcement, and the controversies of their use here .
United Kingdom (UK) police have used the technology, stated VICE News in 2016.
The Center for Human Rights and Privacy published a collection list of “Non-Disclosure Agreements Between FBI and Local Law Enforcement for StingRay” here; the one which names Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (2012) is here.
IMSI-catchers can be used to search for missing persons, who are (believed to be) in possession of their phones. Apart from searching all IMSI numbers in a certain area, they can also search for and identify specific numbers. CBC News reported in 2017 that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had used them in kidnappings, and Vancouver Police Department (VPD) had used one to attempt to locate a missing person. It is not known if these uses resulted in successful outcomes.
A United States (US) senator officially brought up the issue of active IMSI-catchers possibly interfering with 911 calls, in a letter to the Department of Justice. “This could be especially dangerous during a natural disaster when IMSI catchers are being used to locate missing persons in damaged buildings or other infrastructure,” stated Deeplinks Blog.
A bill, entitled “S.2122 – Cell-Site Simulator Warrant Act of 2021“, was introduced in the US Senate in June 2021, seeking to “regulate the use of cell-site simulators”. IMSI-catchers simulate cell towers (also called cell sites) to extract information from cellular phones.
Although there are IMSI-catcher detection apps available to consumers, they can be easily bypassed, and do not offer much protection against these man-in-the-middle attacks.
Record Found of Deceased Female, RIP
In a civilian’s search of online public domain records, of persons known to Veronica, a record of a recently deceased female was found. An online obituary was posted for the female, which claimed a date of death that occurred in the summer of 2021 in Hillsborough County. At this time, cause and manner of death are unknown. The female, who, according to records, was married prior to Veronica’s disappearance, had a male associate in common with Veronica. The male is not Veronica’s husband, and not a male known at this time to have seen her on the night she went missing. It is not known if there is any other connection between this deceased female and Veronica.
Note: No one has been named a suspect or person of interest in this missing person case.
Missing Person, Veronica Reyes-Diaz, shown in an undated selfie.
Do You Have Information in this Missing Person Case?
Main Source: In regards to the police update status of Veronica’s missing person case, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was interviewed for this article. Information provided by other interviewed sources was attributed.
Research: This article contains considerable information that was independently researched; either attributed and/or listed in “Other Sources” below.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article was pieced together from various sources, including web sites, news reports and via interviews; and is believed to be as accurate as possible. If you have anything additional to provide, or wish to request a correction, please comment below or contact the author. In cases of discrepancies in details provided by various sources, the most reliable or reasonable source of information–in the opinion of the author–was used. We are not liable for the accessibility of information made available via public domain, errors in sourced information or opinions, attributed to other parties.
“SIM Cards: What is the difference between ICCID, IMSI and IMEI numbers?” excerpts from Quora.com by EFRAM, dated May 22, 2015, unknown copyright(s). Retrieved November 24 from https://m.blog.naver.com/framkang/220363349346.
Credit: Two images used on this page were purchased from https://www.123rf.com. Additional image used on this page is courtesy of https://pixabay.com. Excludes: social media image in public domain.
“Everything reminds me of her,” said the grieving mother of Veronica (Vero) Reyes-Diaz, who has been missing from Dover, Florida, since the early hours of Saturday, January 18, 2020. Vero, who was noted as her mother’s firtborn child on The Vanished podcast, episode 273, is her baby girl, her mija (Spanish slang for “mi hija”, meaning “my daughter”). Veronica’s mother described her as a very happy person, who always had a smile on her face, got along with everyone and helped anyone she could. Is it possible that someone terrible took advantage of Veronica’s good nature? “We just want to hold her and hug her,” said her mom. But if the unthinkable happened, “We need to be able to lay our daughter to rest.”
The constant stress of having a loved one be a missing person can be devastating. The author of Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief, Dr. Pauline Boss, suggests that persons with long-term missing loved ones, can acknowledge grief while still maintaining hope. By accepting the uncertainty of the situation and not seeking closure, she says, one can embrace their healing process, thus improving their overall health. In other words, in “absence of facts”, it’s okay to believe someone may be gone and yet may still return.
“[Her] boys need justice,” said the missing mother’s mother, maternal grandmother of Veronica’s three young sons. “Going to pick up the boys is the worst for me because that was her place of residence,” she said. Veronica is believed to have disappeared from her own home, after picking up her two eldest boys from her sister’s home in Plant City. In a September 2020 video by iCkEdMeL, Veronica’s eldest son, who was six years old at the time, looked distressed when he said, “I looked everywhere for her inside of the house. Everywhere. And I couldn’t find her. Never.” He then wiped away tears as he was comforted by an adult female. Family and friends had gathered with Pink Justice–an Indian River County support group who organizes volunteers for the searching of missing persons–to plant a flower garden and hang a missing person banner just outside the fence line of Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park, along Florida State Road 60. (The highway travels east-west from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.) Veronica had lived at the park with her husband of 13 months, her two small children from previous relationships, and the couple’s infant son.
When Veronica went missing, her boys were aged five, four and 18 months. Today, nearing two years later, each child reminds their grandmother of their mother. Veronica’s oldest boy is “very smart”, her middle boy “has [Veronica’s] attitude”, and her youngest boy “looks just like [Veronica]”, their grandmother said, with each of the three having “a big heart like Vero”. Veronica “is an awesome mom” who loved being with her boys, and taking them to Gilchrist Park in Plant City, said her mother. She “enjoyed spending time with [her boys]”, reading to them; going to Gandy Beach and St. Pete Beach in Saint Petersburg, and Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, Florida; and taking them fishing with her husband, as a family, at Skyway Fishing Pier State Park in Saint Petersburg.
St Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A – September 27, 2019 – The aerial view of the south side of Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Skyway Fishing Pier
Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, on north and south sides of the current Sunshine Skyway Bridge, built over Tampa Bay, is open all year round, 24 hours a day and lit at night. It is the longest fishing pier in the world, with over four miles of pier. Once part of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge, reconstructed in 1987, car lanes line the pier, which allow anglers to park at a desired location to unload their fishing gear. Common species of fish in the bay include cobia, black sea bass, grouper, king mackerel, pompano, red snapper, sheepshead, snook, Spanish mackerel, and tarpon. Birds feeding on fish include ducks, gulls, herons, pelicans, and terns.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge on Interstate 275 connects Pinellas County with Manatee County. In the north water is Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge. The islands are closed to public use; the mud flats are closed to motorized boating activity. In the south water, on both sides of the bridge is Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, which comprises almost 25,000 acres of submerged lands and wetlands, and includes open water, inlet bays, creeks, rivers, and mud flats. The refuge and the preserve both host seagrasses, which form dense underwater meadows that provide food and habitat for a diverse population of marine life and other organisms. The preserve contains a lot of Tampa Bay’s hard bottom acreage.
Across the water, west of Sunshine Skyway Bridge is Fort De Soto Park. Over 1,100 acres, the park, the largest in Pinnelas County Park System, is made up of five keys, and includes wetlands. The park recently came to fame this fall when searched by Dog, The Bounty Hunter, who was looking for signs of Florida resident, Brian Laundrie, person of interest in the August 2021 homicide of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito, in Wyoming. Although the park boasts an average of 2.7 million annual visitors, Dog had said on September 29 that there were “not too many people” to be seen, giving the impression that the park may have remote areas.
During late evening on Saturday, January 18, 2020, the same day Veronica went missing, it was reported by her father that her husband took her three young sons fishing at Skyway Fishing Pier State Park for a very brief period. To his knowledge, the family had always gone fishing together in mornings only, and would fish for hours, while Veronica watched the boys. Veronica’s mother additionally stated that Veronica never fished with the kids, without her husband.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection states that Skyway Fishing Pier State Park charges a $4 entrance fee per vehicle, plus a $4 fishing fee per each adult, and a $2 admission fee per child six to 12 years of age. At the time, Veronica’s children would have been five, four, and one; all would have been able to enter at no charge. Fishing during the day is cheaper at $3 per adult from sunrise to sunset. A Family Annual Entrance Pass can be purchased for $120, which allows a 33% discount at Skyway Fishing Pier State Park.
Great Blue Heron silhouetted at sunrise with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background – Fort De Soto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
The Skyway Bridge, at a height of 200 feet, has a reputation as being one of the top five suicide bridges in the USA.
It was reported in July 2021 that construction of a $3.4 million project, called the Skyway Vertical Net–an 11-foot-high jump barrier, of over three miles total, split on each side of the bridge–had been completed. (Florida Department of Transportation has recorded the contract completion date as June 23, 2021.) By the second week of January, 2020, the additional barrier design, planned to be constructed by Florida Department of Transportation, was reported to have been signed off by Florida’s State Historic Preservation Office. After a number of reported delays, construction had been scheduled to begin in early 2021. An eight-foot high, flexible diamond-mesh netting, marine-grade stainless steel vertical barrier was built over an existing outside, three-foot high concrete barrier to help prevent suicides by jumpers.
According to Wikipedia, at least 310 people were successful in committing suicide by jumping off Sunshine Skyway Bridge into Tampa Bay, and over 40 others have survived a jump. It is generally agreed there have been other jumpers, who may not have survived, as they remain missing.
At the time of this writing, no reports were found for any bridge or water activity occurrences during January 15, 2020 through February 2, 2020 on the web site, SkywayBridge.com, whose domain owner tracks bridge jump event records. According to the site’s records, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) regularly sends out calls for service related to Skyway Bridge events for “Assist Other Agency”, “Missing Persons–Adult Endangered”, “Suicide Attempt” and “Deceased Person”.
HCSO is the local police agency also looking into the disappearance of Veronica Reyes-Diaz. According to Wikipedia, “A narrow portion of Hillsborough County to the south, consisting almost exclusively of water, extends west to the Gulf of Mexico roughly along the Tampa Port Shipping Channel….The central portion of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is in Hillsborough County.”
Phil of SkywayBridge.com, which last changed site ownership in 2003, who is a knowledgeable source on such water events, stated that someone who enters the water is “at the whim of tide and water currents. They may remain under the bridge, or be swept into [Tampa Bay] or out in the [Gulf of Mexico], depending on water direction.” Unfortunately, he added, “The longer they are unfound, the more likely they never will [be found].”
According to media reports, prior to January 18, 2020, existing on Sunshine Skyway Bridge were hotline phones to connect with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, 24-7 Florida Highway Patrol details, surveillance cameras–including smart cameras with pedestrian, cyclist and stopped vehicle detector technology, to elicit a police dispatch–and messages-of-hope placards.
On a Sunday in mid-February, 2020, nearing the one-month anniversary of Veronica’s disappearance, her father–a father of five, and stepfather of two–visited Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Saint Petersburg, along with his other children. Upset about Veronica being missing, he said it was the “biggest mistake” he has made. “I’ve always went fishing…but going there was the hardest thing I’ve ever done; I couldn’t even fish.” He did not have Veronica’s boys that weekend, he said.
Veronica’s Boys
In general, for visitation with their maternal grandparents, Veronica’s three young boys are picked up at Veronica’s home by their grandfather, or dropped off by Veronica’s husband at their grandmother’s place. Both grandparents currently reside separately in Plant City, with their immediate and/or other family members.
If her mother could talk to Veronica, she would say, “I love you. Please come home. Your boys miss you and ask about you every time I see them.” Veronica’s children and her mother are having the “hardest time” with her disappearance, said their grandmother. “Her boys will ask everyone–including a cousin they’d only met once prior–if anyone has seen their mommy.”
“Veronica would never just up and leave her children,” said her mother. “She would have been in contact with someone in the family…her father or [me].” In this adorable photo collage that Veronica publicly posted on Facebook in 2019, of herself with each of her three small boys–who all look especially happy and comforted, and are all surrounded by floating hearts–she proudly calls herself, “Mommy of 3 boys“. In fact, Veronica has posted numerous photos of her sons that attest to her being a loving and adoring, stay-at-home-mom, who cares deeply about her children.
Veronica, who decorated photos of her kids with hearts and baby footprint designs, and often captioned those photos with the words “my loves”, also posted motherly quotes and displayed other online expressions of motherly love. Some touching examples taken from her public Facebook posts are as follows:
Pregnancy Quotes:
“Labor is the only blind date where you know you will meet the love of your life.”
~Anonymous
“Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would give my life for you. This is the miracle of life.”
~Maureen Hawkins, author (as attributed online; not found, but determined not to be at University of Lethbridge)
“A baby is everything you carry inside you for nine months, in your arms for three years, and in your heart till the day you die.”
~Mary Mason, author (as attributed online; not found)
Around the time Veronica was first pregnant with her second child, she posted a beautiful photo art image of her firstborn, inscribed with the caption “Mommy’s Baby Boy, Best Day of My Life”. On her eldest son’s second birthday, she posted the following greeting, but in all caps, in celebration:
“Happy 2nd Birthday, Baby. I love you so much. I can’t believe how fast time has [flown]. You have gotten so smart and so handsome. You mean the world to me, Baby. You are my world, my everything. I love you to the moon and back.”
I Love You to the Moon and Back, is a storybook rhyme about an adult bear and young cub, written by Amelia Hepworth and published in 2015, for children two to five years of age.
In a 2020 video by iCkEdMeL, Veronica’s eldest son got emotional when speaking to the camera about his mother’s disappearance. Her middle son is seen on the video, painstakingly planting yellow mums (chrysanthemums) in an awareness garden for his missing mother. He then high-fives his maternal grandfather upon completion of the task.
Family members have stated, with emotion, that Veronica’s youngest boy, who was 18 months old when she vanished almost two years ago, no longer remembers her. It is painful for them to recognize how much time has passed with no word on Veronica’s status. Now missing over 22 months, she has been missing longer than her youngest son’s age on the night her children last saw her, in the early hours of January 18, 2020. Currently, Veronica’s youngest son calls the mother of his younger sister “Mom”, which “infuriates” his oldest brother, said his grandfather.
According to Veronica’s mother, there was some discord in her marriage, which began after the birth of her youngest child, fathered by her current husband, but Veronica did not normally confide in anyone about relationship troubles.
Marriages
Hillsborough County public official records indicate that both Veronica and her current husband were previously married.
A marriage certificate was filed for Veronica Marllyn Minjares of Dover, born June 7, 1996, a Florida native, and her first husband, R.R.G. of Dover, a Mexican native, over 10 years her senior, for a marriage which took place in Plant City on her 19th birthday in 2015. While the witness section of the certificate is blank, the Governor of Florida “Marriage Q & A” document states that “Although the marriage certificate has spaces for two witnesses to sign, witnesses are not specifically required by law.” Just over three months later, on September 11, 2015, a Domestic Relations Judgment was recorded between the two parties, with Veronica as the grantee. Veronica’s Facebook bio states that her middle son was born that November, just under two months later. According to Veronica Reyes-Diaz’s Instagram (IG) bio, her sons’ last names from oldest to youngest are M., S., and R. Veronica’s maiden name, Minjares, is not the last name listed on her IG account as that of her firstborn son, born in 2014.
On June 28, 2016, Veronica posted a loving video here in celebration of her apparent engagement on August 31, 2015, to the father of her second son. The boy’s father had verified on social media on April 23, 2016, that he was in a relationship with Veronica at that time. Numerous public photos show the male with one or both of Veronica’s oldest children, that prove their relationship, to some extent, was ongoing, and that he cared about both boys. Via past public Facebook comments, the couple had confirmed him as the father of Veronica’s middle son, who was born in November, 2015 and has recently celebrated his sixth birthday. At six years old, he is now a year older than his oldest brother was, when their mommy went missing almost two years ago.
The video flashes photos of mostly herself with her then-fiance, overlaid with captions such as “I love you”, “my love”, “te quiero” (Spanish for I want/love you), and “my bae” (short for “babe” or “before anyone else”). One photo is captioned “my future”, showing an engagement ring with hearts. Shown at the end of the short video is a lock with key, and “100” double-underlined (meaning “100%” and “real”).
Still photos from the “Angel of Mine” couple video posted publicly on social media in 2016 by Veronica Reyes-Diaz
The version of the song, “Angel of Mine” chosen by Veronica in her video was released in 1997 by the British girl group, Eternal. This version differs from a later release by an American artist, most notably in the chorus:
"You came into my life sent from above
Better than a dream, such a perfect love
And I'll adore you till the end of time
Angel of mine"
Another video Veronica posted of the couple, plays the song, “Baby Boy” , released in 2003 by the British band, Big Brovaz. The song describes a rocky relationship in which the couple still remain together in the end. The female is referred to as “baby girl” also Veronica’s nickname, and includes the last lines,
"Do you believe in destiny
Because I got a funny feeling
This was meant to be
.....
I might have to marry you
One day baby eh.."
The official videos of both songs also have children in them.
Records show Veronica’s first husband, then of Lakeland, then married a Mexican native female, almost two years his junior, also of Lakeland, in Mulberry in May 2017. According to Hillsborough County records, that female had married a male three years her junior in Mulberry in March 2011. The two males, almost five years apart in age, both have dual surnames with the last name in common. No Domestic Relations Judgment was found recorded in Hillsborough or Polk County for dissolution of the female’s first marriage.
A second marriage certificate was filed for Veronica and her current husband, both of Dover, for their marriage, which took place in Dade City on December 8, 2018. This certificate did include the signature of two witnesses, one a female who carried Veronica’s maiden name. Veronica has paternal family who were/are living in Dade City.
Records show Veronica’s second husband, a Mexican native, had previously married a Mexican native female, over three years his junior, in Dover, also their mutual place of residence, on December 29, 2009. It was reported by Veronica’s friend that Veronica had not been aware of this past marriage until around eight months into her current marriage, when she is believed to have found a Dover house property deed with both the female’s and her husband’s name on it. Veronica and her husband also lived in Dover. The friend reported that Veronica, via Facebook, had found and contacted the female, and that this discovery caused a “big argument” between the current marriage partners. At this time, according to her friend, Veronica also became aware of a son her husband had fathered with his previous wife. This male would be a half-sibling to Veronica’s youngest son. Hillborough County official records show a Domestic Relations Judgment recorded on March 15, 2017, between Veronica’s husband and his previous wife, with the female as the grantor. Recorded on October 30, 2018, is another Domestic Relations Judgment between a female of the same name, and another male, with the female also as the grantor.
On September 2, 2021, a Domestic Relations Judgment was filed in Hillsborough County between her current husband as the grantor, and Veronica as the grantee. As is typical with Domestic Relations Judgments, that 16-page document is not available for viewing online. Instead, is displayed as follows:
Pursuant to Florida law, Florida Statues section 28.2221(5)(a), no county recorder or clerk of the court may place an image or copy of a public record, including an official record on a publicly available Internet website for general public display if that image or copy is of a file, record or paper relating to matters of cases governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure or the Florida Probate Rules.
~Hillsborough County Clerk
The Lake County Clerk web site describes Domestic Relations as follows:
Domestic Relations is the jurisdiction for dissolutions of marriage, annulments, name changes, adoptions, domestic violence and repeat violence injunctions, separate maintenance, paternity, child custody, termination of parents’ rights, and child and spousal support matters. These matters are governed by the laws of the State of Florida (Florida Statutes) and the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.
~Lake County Clerk
Orlando divorce attorney, Steve W. Marsee, P.A., states that to divorce a missing spouse by publication, the party requesting the divorce must prove a good faith effort in searching for their spouse. This includes filing an affidavit of “diligent search efforts” and preparing a “notice of dissolution of marriage” for publication. After the affidavit is approved by the court, the notice must be published for four weeks, once weekly, in a “classified legal advertisements” publication. If within 28 days, the missing spouse does not respond to said notice, the party seeking the divorce can then file a “notice of default”. This process will allow the divorce to proceed; however, decisions regarding children (i.e. custody, support) and division of property will not be decided by the court in this legal process.
As per Veronica’s father, her husband may own additional mobile home property in Dover, Gibsonton, Riverview, and time-share property in Orlando. At the time of this publication, that information could not be verified via property records.
Immediately following her disappearance, Veronica’s two eldest children were legally adopted by her husband on January 23, 2020. Her parents, who live separately in Plant City, currently share visitation with her three young boys. Veronica’s mother has intention of adopting Veronica’s three children. To her knowledge, none of the boys’ fathers, including their adoptive father, have any objections. As per online records, one biological father, who, has spent time in Dover (Hillsborough County), in Michigan (state) and resided in both California (state) and in Canada, may be out of the country; and another biological father, from Dover and Plant City, who spent time with his son during his infancy, may not be in a position to care for him now. Those close to Veronica have said her husband has since fathered an additional child by his current girlfriend, who also has other children.
Business
According to public business records, Veronica’s husband runs a Domestic for Profit flooring business registered in Dover. He regularly travels “all over” for work, said Veronica’s mom. According to a friend of Veronica’s, her sisters both worked for some time for or with her husband. Her father also stated that Veronica performed administrative duties from home for her husband, and that her husband subcontracts for, or is otherwise employed by, a carpeting company. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) lists the headquarters for the carpeting business in Jacksonville, with seven employess at that location, and noting three other Florida branch locations. D&B has estimated the flooring business, started in 2017, as having four employees. Upcounsel online service describes a domestic profit business as one “that operates within its home country….[and] may carry out activities in other states or regions of the country where it incorporates.”
The business name, under the same current phone number, was incorporated in May 2017 by a (non-related) female registered agent, of the same Florida general address in Dover as Veronica’s. Hillsborough County’s public official records show the female was married in 2011 to the same partner she is with now, according to her Facebook profile. Public property online records accessed in 2021, place the couple in Plant City. (According to a family member, Veronica had been residing at her residence for around two years prior to her disappearance, which places her at the Dover residence in 2018 or earlier.) Florida Company Directory listed a dissolution date of September 28, 2018, which was not found listed elsewhere. However, on January 15, 2019, a Florida Profit Corporation Reinstatement was filed for the business, in Veronica’s husband’s name as the current registered agent, under their exact address in Dover. Wikipedia defines a registered agent, in United States business law, as an “…individual designated to receive service of process (SOP) when a business entity is a party in a legal action.” “The registered agent’s address may also be where the state sends the paperwork for the periodic renewal of the business entity’s charter.”
On September 24, 2019, Veronica was added as Manager of her husband’s flooring business. At this time, Veronica and her husband had been married over nine months. Six months later, on March 24, 2020, just over two months after she went missing, a document was filed by her husband that officially removed Veronica from the business, listing her husband as President. On September 16, 2021 in its Florida Corporation Annual Report, her husband added his current partner, of the same address, as Director of his flooring business. (Veronica’s loved ones had stated that this latter female is the mother of her husband’s youngest child, who is now around one-year of age.)
The original female who incorporated the business startup is still listed as Principal on some web sites (i.e. Dun & Bradstreet, and Buzzfile). A source has said Veronica’s husband and the female were seen together shortly after Veronica’s disappearance, and had had a working relationship prior to Veronica’s relationship with him. The job site, Indeed, defines the principal as “the owner, founder or chief executive officer (CEO) of a company”, and the president as “not necessarily an owner….[but] the head of an organization” who could also be CEO. Entrepreneur, Joe Procopio, wrote that co-CEOs can function well in growing startups, if the CEOs are “tightly aligned” and “split…executive duties”.
At around 10:45 p.m., according to Veronica’s father, her husband drove his truck to Skyway Bridge Fishing Pier to go fishing, bringing along Veronica’s three young boys, and returning less than two hours later.
(Veronica’s father said the family would normally go fishing during the day, leaving during daylight in early to mid-morning and spend hours fishing. To fish, they would bring fishing rods, a cast net, and a bucket to store caught fish.)
As also mentioned on The Vanished podcast, the truck–which is believed to be a long-box pickup with cab–had been seen on Skyway Bridge black-and-white camera footage with a roll of carpet padding in the truck bed. Veronica’s father said he also saw some trash in the back. This trip was not known to Veronica’s parents until some months later. Veronica’s younger sister, who worked with her subcontractor husband, had told their father that Veronica’s husband normally cleaned out the truck on Fridays. Veronica’s father said the weather that weekend had been cool with no rain.
According to Google Maps, a round trip through Riverview to Saint Petersburg and back is 99.5 miles and takes 2h, 7 min, which would not have left any time to fish; a trip to Skyway Bridge Fishing Pier State Park and back over Old Tampa Bay is 90.3 miles and takes 1h, 52 min.
According to Veronica’s father, the truck returned in the early hours of Sunday morning with the padding, which had appeared to have shifted during transport. However, he noted that when he arrived at Veronica’s home sometime on Monday, he did not notice a roll of padding in the back of the pickup truck.
In Google Street View images of Veronica’s home, there is a blue Republic Services dumpster bin nearby, which Veronica’s father said remains and was there at the time Veronica disappeared. Republic Services trash pick up days for Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and pick up times are during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Veronica’s father was advised that pick up takes place by 5:30 p.m. except on Thursday, when pick up takes place by 1:30 p.m. Monday would have been the earliest pick up after Veronica disappeared.
Sunday, January 19, evening.
At 5:42 p.m., Veronica’s mom learned she was missing when she received a phone call from Veronica’s father. He had asked if she had seen or heard from Veronica, whose biological parents did not reside together. Initially, Veronica’s mother thought that maybe she and her husband had had an argument about her going out with friends on Friday evening, and that Veronica may have spent the night elsewhere and would return. She tried to contact Veronica, but did not receive any response. She became concerned when no one was able to reach Veronica, and Veronica’s husband said he did not know where she was.
Monday, January 20, evening.
Veronica’s mother said that upon discussion with Veronica’s husband–and because, for unknown reasons, he did not want her to attend his home–he decided to file the missing person police report from her home in Seffner instead of the residence he shared with Veronica in Dover, from where she went missing. Although it sounded unusual to Veronica’s mother at the time, as far as she knew, this decision was not questioned later by police who attended her residence.
While, as per arrangement, Veronica’s mom was expecting her husband to leave Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park at 8 a.m. to go to her home in Seffner, which was under half an hour away, he did not arrive until mid-afternoon, between 2 to 3 p.m. she said.
Veronica’s father said that her younger sister, who worked with her husband, met the husband with her boyfriend at a McDonald’s in Seffner, on Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. According to her father, she then continued on to her mother’s home, without her friend, before getting dropped off by Veronica’s husband at her father’s home in Plant City. Veronica’s mother had been told that her husband would be taking the boys for breakfast at McDonald’s, but did not see any bags to indicate they had been there, or anywhere else. She said that during the visit there was no discussion about anything that had happened between that morning or afternoon.
All three boys arrived with Veronica’s husband, said her mother. However, at that time, she said, she did not ask Veronica’s sons anything, and the boys did not mention their late Saturday night fishing trip. According to family, some months later, however, the oldest boy or boys were questioned by police.
Veronica’s mother said that her husband arrived not in his pickup truck, but in Veronica’s SUV. This is the vehicle Veronica was driving the night she went missing. According to her best friend, while Veronica was driving in the early hours of Saturday morning–shortly before she went missing–she received a warning from police for a faulty brake light. At this time, it is not known if her husband was aware of the warning, the faulty light, and/or if he had meanwhile replaced the bulb.
On January 20, 2020, sunset in Seffner, Florida, occurred by 6 p.m., according to historical weather data. The State of Florida requires a car to have “two red taillights mounted on the rear, visible from 1,000 feet” and “two red stoplights….[that] must be seen from 300 feet in the daytime, and must come on when the foot brake is pressed.” In addition, “headlights [must be used] between the hours of sunset and sunrise.” Due to the lateness of the day, by the time Veronica’s husband left his mother-in-law’s home in Seffner, it would have been at or nearing sunset.
Veronica’s mother said that a call was placed to police at around 3:30 p.m. and that police showed up about an hour later. At her home in Seffner, where Veronica had never lived, the police officers taking the missing person’s report first talked to Veronica’s husband, said her mother. At that time, she said, Veronica’s husband said he had not seen her since Friday night, and her boys said their “mommy didn’t come home”. It is not exactly clear when the boys said that they remembered their mother tucking them in that night.
While Veronica’s mom said she told police that she thought something was wrong, she said, “police acted as if…Veronica ran off and left her boys”. According to her mother, Veronica’s husband said to police that Veronica had left “several times” in the past. (During a missing person investigation, police will normally ask if the missing person has left before. Family later stated that Veronica had only left once before, and had advised relatives where she was staying.) She said she did not know the officers who responded to the call at her home, and had never seen them before. Veronica’s mother said that she did not feel her concerns were taken seriously by police at that time, and that she felt Veronica’s husband’s comments to police had carried more weight than hers. It is generally understood through family members’ statements that Veronica’s husband was the one who filed the initial missing person report.
After police left, Veronica’s mother said that she and Veronica’s husband discussed him caring for Veronica’s sons in her absence and still following through with the adoption of her two eldest boys, which was scheduled in court for that Thursday, January 23. At this time, Veronica had been missing over two days, and the adoption of the boys was under three days away. Veronica’s husband and sons left about half an hour after police did, said her mother.
Veronica’s Phone
Veronica’s phone, a newly-purchased Samsung Galaxy A20, has still not been located. After Veronica went missing, her mom said, “I called every day for two weeks straight.” Although Veronica’s father said he offered to pay her husband for the phone bill to keep her phone active, Veronica’s parents say her phone was shut off. Veronica’s mother frequently called and texted her phone number, she said, and tried to make contact “every time I turned around and till it would go to her voicemail”. After Veronica went missing, she “texted her several times throughout the next few days, weeks, [and] months”. She said, “I still hold out hope that [Vero] will pick up. It’s been almost two years, and I still try.” Veronica’s mother now lives in Plant City.
Fake Ransom Demands
Veronica’s father said her mother was plagued by fake ransom demands from different phone numbers, which he believes were due to the fact her personal phone number was published on the first missing person flyers in search for Veronica. “That was a big mistake,” he said. (Although her father’s personal number was also published, he said, a printing error may have prevented him from receiving similar demands.) Some of the fake requests included Veronica’s face Photoshopped onto someone else’s body, he explained. The incidents were reported to the police, he said. However, he is not aware of any charges being laid in regard to the demands.
In a May, 2021, Public Service Announcement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), victims of extortion attempts related to a missing person, were advised to “keep all original documentation, emails, text messages, and logs of communication with the subject” as well as “not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it; and tell law enforcement everything about the online encounters” even if embarrassing. To report an extortion attempt, victims should contact local law enforcement or their local FBI office at fbi.gov or file an online complaint at ic3.gov with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI stated that they had in recent years identified “an increase in scammers exploiting missing persons information posted to social media.”
More About Veronica
One of Veronica’s mom’s favourite memories of Veronica is when she was in kindergarten, got a bronze metal for spelling and was written up in a Plant City newspaper.
According to her mother, Veronica liked Spanish bands and getting her hair and nails done in Plant City. According to her father, she visited Fleridas Royal Touch Dominican Salon in Brandon; on Facebook, Veronica had recommended My Town Barber Shop & Salon in Plant City. Her mother said that she liked to buy clothing at Walmart, which has locations in Valrico, Brandon, Tampa and Gibsonton (south of Riverview); and Rainbow, an American retail apparel chain with headquarters in New York, which has locations in Brandon, Tampa, Seffner and Lakeland. In 2016, Veronica posted about being at “Duke’s”, appearing to be referring to Duke’s Brewhouse, a sports bar with advertised locations in Brandon, Plant City and Lakeland. Veronica appeared to have fond memories of her mom and younger sister, going to Zaxby’s, an American fast casual restaurant chain serving chicken and operating in the Southern United States, with locations in Valrico, Plant City, Seffner and Tampa. Veronica had previously worked at a Taco Bell in Plant City.
Veronica has maternal family in Michigan; her eldest son has paternal family in Michigan. Online records had shown she visited Michigan in 2017.
Final Words From Veronica’s Mom
In regard to her missing daughter, and with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, Veronica’s mom had this to say:
“[Veronica] is a loving mother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend. She is a beautiful soul with a big heart. She would never just up and leave her family and friends. She loves her boys very much! She loved getting together with family for the holidays and special occasions to see everyone.
I miss my daughter and will get justice for her and her boys! I will never give up hope! My baby is out there and I pray we can bring her home soon.”
Veronica Reyes-Diaz shown in an undated mirror selfie, holding one of her children. Edited.
Do You Have Information in this Missing Person Case?
To assist in searching for Veronica, hiring a private investigator, and offering a reward for information leading to Veronica’s whereabouts, please visit the GoFundMe fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/search-for-veronica-reyes-diaz .
Main Source: In regards to Veronica, her mother, Tina Bell, was interviewed for this article. Information provided by other interviewed sources was attributed.
Research: This article contains considerable information that was independently researched; either attributed and/or listed in “Other Sources” below.
Note: At the time of this publication, no one has been known to have been named a suspect or person of interest in this missing person case.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article was pieced together from various sources, including assorted media reports; various web sites including of business, law, organization, and government; public records, social media, and recollections of family members and/or friends; and is believed to be as accurate as possible. If you have anything additional to provide, have a question, or wish to request a correction, please comment below or contact the author. In cases of discrepancies in details provided by various sources, the most reliable or reasonable source of information–in the opinion of the author–was used. The purposes of this article are to inform with respect, keep track of records and progress, keep memories alive, maintain a human element, and provide, without bias, details which could assist in the finding of the long-term Missing Person. We are not liable for errors in sourced information or opinions, attributed to other parties.
Credit: Two images used on this page were purchased from https://www.123rf.com. Additional images used on this page are courtesy of https://pixabay.com. Excludes: social media images in public domain.
On Friday, January 17, 2020, Veronica Reyes-Diaz had gone out for dinner with two friends. After midnight on Saturday, January 18, Veronica’s best friend had dropped her off at home to pick up her SUV. Veronica had plans to drive to her youngest sister’s place to pick up her two eldest boys. The last time Athena** (not her real name) saw Veronica was on Highway 60, by her friend’s home. Florida 60, also known as Hopewell Road, runs south of Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park, where Veronica lived with her husband and three young sons. Athena was headed back to her home in Lakeland, Florida, while Veronica was headed to Plant City. Athena saw headlights in her rearview mirror, and then–darkness.
Sometime on Friday evening, Athena picked up her best friend of 14 years, her young daughter’s godmother, Veronica Reyes-Diaz, at her home in Dover, Florida. When Athena arrived, Veronica’s husband had not wanted Veronica to go out, Athena understood from his words and actions, which she characterized as ‘controlling’. However, the young women decided to follow through with their plans anyway. Earlier that evening, in anticipation of the planned outing, Veronica had already dropped off her two eldest young boys at her sister’s home in Plant City; and Veronica’s husband had agreed to watch their infant son. The two female friends then picked up a close-in-age, long-time, single male friend of Veronica’s, at his home nearby. (According to Veronica’s father, this male did not have access to a vehicle.)
The trio continued onward with their plans to go for dinner in Tampa at Chili’s Grill & Bar, otherwise known just as ‘Chili’s’, a franchise restaurant chain owned by Brinker International, Inc. The restaurant’s web site, www.chilis.com, lists six Tampa locations including Carrollwood, Citrus Park, Fowler, Hillsborough, New Tampa and Tampa Stadium. While not regular customers, they “used to eat at Chili’s a lot”, said Athena. According to her, no other stops had been made en route to Chili’s; and at the restaurant, the trio had hung out together privately without company, and without any other parties interacting with them or otherwise making themselves known.
“We were having a good time.” According to Athena, Veronica was happy but “upset a little bit” about her husband’s obvious and frequent interruptions via phone calls and texts, which appeared to be egged on by his obsessing over wanting his wife to return home as soon as possible, while also knowing her location; his wife had informed him of where she was. Nonetheless, the trio decided not to let the negative vibes bring them down too much and continued to enjoy their evening, with some limited communication occurring between the married couple.
However, Athena advised that Veronica confided in her that she had some reservations about returning home as she anticipated an argument with her husband to follow her arrival back home. To Athena’s knowledge, although the age-gap relationship couple didn’t always agree, arguments between the younger Veronica and her near-decade older husband had never resulted in physical violence.
According to Athena, Veronica’s husband kept attempting to contact her until around 12:30 a.m. On the trip back to Dover from Tampa, Athena dropped the male friend off at his place, and proceeded to Veronica’s residence. At 1:00 a.m., Veronica was dropped off. Athena noticed the kitchen light on in the home. To her recollection, the couple regularly left the stove light on overnight while sleeping, but not the kitchen light. (Although this could have indicated that Veronica’s husband was awake, it could just merely have indicated he had gone to bed, leaving a light on for his wife’s expected return.) Her husband would later say he fell asleep, and never heard Veronica return home.
Upon their return arrival to the trailer park, no one seemed to be stirring and “everything was quiet”, Athena informed. Veronica’s flooring subcontractor husband’s truck was pulled into the driveway, and “everything looked normal” she said. Without entering the residence, Veronica got directly into her SUV. This time, Veronica’s husband was not seen by Athena. Both women now on the road, Veronica pulled in behind Athena, and her SUV’s headlights were the last thing Athena ever saw of Veronica, as they parted ways out of Dover, on their separate routes into Hillsborough County.
At 1:05 a.m. Athena received a phone text from Veronica, saying that, en route to Plant City, she had been pulled over by police due to a rear passenger faulty brake light. (Veronica’s father would later state that Veronica had received no ticket, but had gotten a warning from an officer.) It had been pre-arranged that Veronica would text Athena when she arrived home after picking up her boys, to let her bestie know everything was alright. That end-of-the-night, reassuring ‘I’m okay, I’m home now’ text never arrived.
Saturday, around mid-morning, Athena followed up with a ‘check in with me’ message, texting something along the lines of “Hey Ma, how’s the boys, how’s everything, was he mad?” but all day, there was no response from her friend. That Sunday morning of January 19, when contacted by Veronica’s sister–who had babysat for Veronica on Friday night–Athena found out Veronica was missing, although her two sons had both safely made it home. “At first, I honestly thought that…[Veronica] might have got[ten] kidnapped,” she said. She again texted and also Facebook messaged her friend. While she never received a phone text back, Athena did receive one Facebook Messenger reply. That reply said simply, “Don’t worry I’m ok”. “[When] I got that message…I had a feeling it wasn’t her. I knew it wasn’t her,” Athena said. “She never messaged [IM’d] me on Facebook.”
Athena explained that Veronica would typically message her via phone [SMS/MMS] text message. (It’s not known at this time whether Veronica had the Facebook Messenger app downloaded to her phone or not.) While Veronica’s new Samsung Galaxy A20 was never found, it had been traced to the area around her home until Monday morning. Her Chromebook laptop, however, had been located at Veronica’s home on Tuesday, when her father had used it to access her online accounts, in an attempt to track his missing daughter’s whereabouts.
To Athena’s knowledge, Veronica had gone missing in the clothes and jewellery she had worn to Chili’s, which included a top Athena described as white with purple stripes, jeans, sandals and her wedding rings. Veronica had worn her hair down that night, Athena added.
Although Athena said Veronica wished her marriage to improve, Veronica “loved [her husband] a lot….She would do anything for him”. Veronica’s husband was the type who “always wanted a house immaculate when he got home and his food ready for him”, she said. In her opinion, Veronica’s husband was not supportive of Veronica’s goals to upgrade her education–such as by obtaining her GED (General Education Diploma), and could be frugal with the amount of grocery money he gave to the stay-at-home-mom. (In past times, however, he had also been generous in giving his wife money, Athena admitted.) Veronica packed her husband’s lunches during early mornings, seemingly at his request, although sometimes he would eat fast food instead, according to what she was told by Veronica, said Athena, who regularly visited Veronica during the day, but would “always leave before he got home”. When Veronica’s husband would text his wife ‘I’m headed home, make sure my plate is heated and on the table for me,’ that was her cue to leave, said Athena. As a result, she said she never really saw them fight, and she only heard about what happened behind closed doors, from Veronica herself. Also to her knowledge, the couple never fought in front of neighbours, who may have called the police in the case of a domestic incident.
Since Veronica’s husband was from Mexico, he didn’t have family here, and to Athena’s knowledge, he was not very sociable with coworkers and didn’t really hang out with anyone in particular. He appeared to spend most of his time working, sometimes long hours, fishing (i.e. at Skyway Fishing Pier), and spending some time with his small family or his extended family, also employing or working with Veronica’s two younger sisters for a time. Veronica also “kept to herself” and did not socialize with her neighbours, as far as Athena knew.
Even so, Athena believes that because after Veronica’s disappearance, the police and news media representatives were a visible presence at and around Veronica’s home, any event witnesses would have been forthright with information. “If someone would have seen something, they would have said something,” Athena said.
Athena was taken aback when, after Veronica’s disappearance, she saw Veronica’s husband on Spanish television. He had relayed a few facts, such as that Veronica was missing, and her car with wallet and keys remained, but otherwise, didn’t say much, said Athena, and in particular, he didn’t mention Veronica’s phone, which had been traced to the area of their home that weekend. “He was very solemn…no tears…no emotion….just normal.” In comparison, Veronica’s parents had been very emotional when they appeared on the news, including on English television, Athena explained. Although a nonreactive response to grief can be off-putting to some, it is not necessarily indicative of a lack of caring, according to grief experts. The American Psychological Association defines “absent grief” as follows:
A form of complicated grief in which a person shows no, or only a few, signs of distress about…a loved one. This pattern of grief is thought to be an impaired response resulting from denial or avoidance of the emotional realities of the loss.
Athena said she had not known Veronica’s husband prior to her friend’s relationship. “He was always nonchalant with me, never really talking to me or anything, and he only spoke Spanish…I don’t speak Spanish so I really didn’t talk with him much.” On a podcast of The Vanished, Veronica’s family members had also described her husband’s normal behaviour as a quiet man of very few words. This was in stark contrast to Veronica’s friendly, expressive and sociable personality. However, as the late Robert Francis Winch, American educator and sociologist, known for his study of spouses, had theorized–opposites attract.
[Veronica] was an upstanding friend, always there for me when I needed her, and I was always there for her when she needed me….She would go out of her way to make sure the boys [were] well-taken care of. She even [helped] me take care of my daughter….She would take the kids to the park, spend a lot of time with them. She was a great mother…loved her kids unconditionally.
~Athena
“I would like her…[to] be found…or…[for] whoever did what they did to her, get charged for it.” The strange instant message, the fact that Veronica’s phone was tracked to an area where she should have been, but was not found to be, made Athena express, “I feel like [Veronica] isn’t here [with us] anymore.”
Veronica’s best friend, since 6th grade in middle school, misses her terribly–so much, her stoic voice breaks to talk about it.
Veronica Reyes-Diaz, from her public Facebook photos
Do You Have Information in this Missing Person Case?
To assist in searching for Veronica, hiring a private investigator, and offering a reward for information leading to Veronica’s whereabouts, please visit the GoFundMe fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/search-for-veronica-reyes-diaz .
**Due to Athena’s potential as a possible witness to a crime, her actual identity, for the purpose of this article, has been changed to help protect her from strangers, but without compromising her story. This decision was made by the author.
Main Source: The best friend of Veronica Reyes-Diaz, at the time of her disappearance, was interviewed for this article.
Note: At the time of this publication, no one has been named a suspect or person of interest in this missing person case.
Disclaimer: This is an eyewitness account of events that occurred over 20 months ago. While described as accurately as possible, eyewitness accounts tend to incorporate a margin of error and can degrade over time. The purpose of this article is to highlight the human factors of a missing person’s case, from the perspective of the person(s) involved. We are not liable for any errors in perception of events or any judgments made on the basis of this singular account. In general, there are a multitude of factors in any one missing person case, and it is the job of police to sift through events to determine what happened, and if any crime was in fact committed.
Credit: Additional images used on this page are courtesy of Pixabay.
When a loved one is missing, it is very difficult as many questions are left unanswered. A family may hold onto hope that the missing person is still alive, and will return home safely. At some point, however, someone may fear something very bad has happened to their loved one. This is the case with missing wife, mother, and daughter, Veronica Reyes-Diaz, who has three young sons.
Veronica, who has always been “Daddy’s little girl,” has not contacted him, said her father, Fidencio Minjares, even though they used to communicate regularly every day or two. Veronica was a stay-at-home-mom, who was “all about her boys”, he said. They are now seven, six and three, and have not seen their mother since January 18, 2020: Mommy has been missing almost 21 months. “Deep down…I don’t believe she is with [us] anymore,” Fidencio admitted.
DESCRIPTION: Name: Veronica Marllen Minjares Reyes-Diaz, born June 7, 1996. White-Hispanic female, 23 years old (when vanished), 4’9″ tall, 130 to 160 lbs, brown hair dyed burgundy, brown eyes. Mole under outer corner of left eye. Last seen wearing a white and grey long-sleeved crop shirt, jeans, white and tan sandals. Has double-pierced ears of two studded earrings in each ear; was wearing one small clear diamond stud upper hole, one large clear diamond stud lower hole. Was wearing matching engagement ring and wedding band: 10K yellow gold and diamond engagement ring with top band of diamonds plus centre diamond; 10K yellow gold and diamond wedding band with eight diamonds; total weight of 1/4 carat. Nearsighted and needs glasses for driving; her glasses are rectangular style with dark brown or black plastic frames. No tattoos.
LAST SEEN: Date: Saturday, January 18 after 1:00 a.m. and before 2:00 a.m. in Dover, Florida and in Plant City, Florida.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF VERONICA’S DISAPPEARANCE
Timeline: January, 2020
Thursday, January 16. Veronica dyed her natural brown hair burgundy.
Friday, January 17. Veronica left her one-year-old baby with his birth father (her husband) at their home in Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park in Dover, Florida. She then drove her red GMC Yukon SUV to her sister’s home in Plant City, where she dropped off her two oldest boys, and then returned home. She was later picked up at home by a girlfriend. At some point, Veronica changed her shirt. The two friends, along with another long-time male friend of Veronica’s, went to dine and socialize at Applebee’s^^ Restaurant in Tampa. According to her father, Veronica had never been there before, and it had been her girlfriend’s idea to go there.
^^UPDATE (October 16, 2021): It was later reported by a witness that the restaurant visited was Chili’s and not Applebee’s. Click here for story.
Saturday, January 18, after 1:00 a.m. Veronica’s girlfriend dropped her off at home around 1:15 a.m. Veronica then picked up her vehicle, the red GMC Yukon SUV, to drive to her sister’s home in Plant City, Florida, which is 15 minutes away, to pick up her two oldest sons. On the way there, around the halfway point, her father said, Veronica had been stopped by city police for a faulty headlamp++. Her vehicle was seen returning home at 1:45 a.m. Her husband said later, he was sleeping with the baby and did not hear her come home.
++UPDATE (October 16, 2021): A witness has described the faulty light as a rear passenger brake light. Click here for story.
(Weekend, early morning: Camera footage recovered from a neighbour, over six months later, revealed light coming from the swaying front door of the home, around 3:00 a.m. Around 4:00 and/or 5:00 a.m., someone is seen pacing on the front lawn, in front of the porch, possibly talking on a cellular phone. The footage is dark, and it is not exactly clear what day(s) these events took place–Saturday and/or Sunday–or known who this person was.)
Saturday, morning. Somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., Veronica’s husband said he got up, looked for and could not find Veronica. He found the two older boys tucked into bed. The husband asked the eldest son where his mother was, and the boy said that mommy had gone outside. Veronica’s husband found the front passenger door of Veronica’s 4-door SUV open. In her vehicle was her driver’s licence, her car and house keys, her wallet, cash, a red-flowered shirt–which was laying on the passenger-side floorboard, and her car phone charger. Her cell phone, a Samsung Galaxy A20, was missing. Veronica’s glasses, which she required for driving, were also missing.
Saturday, rest of day. As reported in The Vanished podcast, this day seemed to proceed as normal, with Veronica’s subcontractor husband spending time “out and about”.
Saturday, night. According to the podcast, his truck was seen on camera entering Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, in Saint Petersburg (also known as Saint Pete), around 10:30 p.m., with a roll of carpet padding in the truck bed. (Veronica’s mother explained her son-in-law laid carpet and always had carpet on the porch.)
Sunday, January 19, early morning. Sometime after midnight and into the early morning hours, Veronica’s husband returned home from his late fishing trip with their young boys.
Sunday, January 19, afternoon. Around 3:45 p.m., Veronica’s husband sent a Facebook message to Veronica’s father, asking if he knew where she was. This is the first time her father is alerted that Veronica was missing. As her father described in The Vanished podcast, he texted a Facebook message to Veronica, but received no response. At this point, he reached out to her siblings, but no one had heard from her. (According to her aunt Claudia, Veronica has two sisters and a brother.) Veronica’s father called her phone, which “rang and rang and rang”, but was never picked up. As per Veronica’s father, the girlfriend whom Veronica had gone out with on Friday night was texted by Veronica’s mother, but could not be reached at that time.
Sunday, evening. Before 7:30 p.m., a screenshot of a Facebook message interaction is saved. That screenshot is forwarded to Veronica’s father via her husband. In the screenshot, Veronica’s girlfriend, around 6:00 p.m., advises Veronica that her mom is concerned and is going to call the police. At 7:15 p.m., the reply, “Don’t worry I’m ok” is received in response. Later, however, Veronica’s family, as well as her girlfriend, suspect that the response did not in fact come from Veronica, as the wording and brevity of the response did not coincide with her regular style of communication.
Monday, January 20, day. Veronica’s husband left their home, and drove to Veronica’s mother’s home in the Seffner area, which is around 30 minutes away, to report her to police as a missing person. On the way, her husband stopped to eat at a McDonald’s restaurant, as told by Veronica’s father. Her husband arrived at his mother-in-law’s home around 3:30 p.m.
Monday, day. Without explanation, Veronica missed a playdate with her children and her aunt Claudia’s children. Claudia was unable to reach her niece.
Monday, night. Veronica’s phone started going right to voicemail shortly before 10:00 p.m. It was presumed at this time either her phone was turned off or its battery went dead.
Tuesday, January 21. Veronica’s dad, who had her computer password, tracked her phone with Google location using her laptop. It showed being in the area of her home the whole weekend until late Monday morning, when it showed leaving the area. Veronica’s aunt Claudia told The Vanished podcast that her niece’s phone had shown being in Plant City before it died. Here is how the tracking works, and also how you can use your computer to find your lost phone: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-track-someone-on-google-maps .
Thursday, January 23, morning. At 9:30 a.m., Veronica missed her court proceedings appointment for her husband to legally adopt her two oldest boys, and missed the arrangements made with her father to celebrate afterward. (According to Veronica’s father, her husband was successful however, in legally adopting her boys. The couple have been legally married since December 2019.)
Veronica Reyes-Diaz, Status: VANISHED!
NO trace of Veronica’s location was found; and there are NO witnesses to her disappearance.
Veronica’s Eyeglasses: **Not Found**. Veronica wore distance eyeglasses with dark brown or black plastic, rectangular frames, which she needed to drive. Her glasses were not located.
Veronica’s Phone: **Missing**. Her phone was a new Samsung Galaxy A20. Her phone charger was found in her bedroom. Her car charger was found in her vehicle.
Neighbours Witnessed Nothing: The mobile homes in the park are around 6′ to 10′ apart. Veronica’s father was told that no one heard or saw anything the whole weekend that Veronica went missing.
What Happened to Veronica?
A theory was presented that Veronica had left on her own. But is that theory logical? Her family does not believe it, and now–neither do police.
Could She Have Left on Her Own? With her car door open and her belongings still inside, it appeared Veronica’s disappearance was unplanned. While she had left once before, when she and her husband had had a fight, she had stayed with a family member and had told everyone where she was. Although her phone was missing, she did not have her phone chargers with her. Since no one heard anything, it is possible that Veronica was surprised. If she was ambushed, it could have been by someone whom she trusted, as it appeared she did not raise any alarm. On the other hand, someone with a weapon could have convinced her to leave quietly. Her vehicle was seen returning on camera, but she was not. Did Veronica return home alone? Lastly, did she even come home at all, or did someone else park her car in her driveway, tuck the sleeping boys in for the night, and then slip away. Family members said Veronica is normally loud and boisterous and were surprised no one heard anything inside or outside the home. There are many unanswered questions.
Would She Have Left on Her Own? Police are doubtful that Veronica left willingly. Her two oldest children were not fathered by her current husband, but he and Veronica had court appointments that coming week to adopt the boys. “That never happened, obviously,” said Detective Tony Watson, during a podcast of Unfinished Business. “She went missing before those children were ever adopted.” Veronica’s father said the boys’ birth father lives in Mexico, and does not have contact with them. To his knowledge, the boys’ biological father does not have any relatives living in the USA. It appears that no one had contested their adoptions. He advised also that in Veronica’s absence, her husband was able to and in fact did legally adopt her boys. While they do have their papi, her children still wonder–where is mommy?
Where is Veronica?
Searches were conducted, but Veronica was never located.
Searches for Veronica: WFLA News reported that on Saturday, January 25, 2020, a team 150 members strong of family and friends conducted a search of wooded area near the home of Veronica Diaz. That search did not yield any results.
Late January to July 2020: Land searches for Veronica continued to take place. Her boys were questioned. The two friends Veronica spent time with at Applebee’s^^ were interviewed. Her laptop computer was examined. Her family home and her vehicle were checked for forensic evidence; however it was reported by a family member, that before this time, the home had been newly painted and furniture had been replaced.
By August 2020, Hillsborough County Police said multiple searches of the area had been conducted, on foot, horseback, 4-wheelers and via their Special Incident Response Team (SIRT) with no success “whatsoever”.
Police Are Stumped. “A mom usually just doesn’t leave [her] kids from what we’ve seen in the past,” said Detective Tony Watson of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, during an episode of the podcast, Unfinished Business. “This is one of those cases that we never really had a lot to go off of from the very beginning….We really don’t know what happened between that 1:10 and…6:30 [a.m.] timeframe.” The detective said they have gotten reports of sightings which did not turn out to be Veronica and leads which did not pan out. “We’ve flooded social media…asked for the public’s assistance.” The host of the podcast, Merissa Lynn, said Veronica’s DNA was submitted to a database for remains-matching, and no money was re-routed for her via IRS. Concluded Watson, “No one wants to go without answers….when you’ve got nothing to go on, it’s hard….We try everything…it is personal.”
Finding Veronica Minjares Reyes-Diaz
Veronica’s Home Life: Veronica’s online profile seemed to show a happy family life. In October 2019, Veronica posted photos of her husband and boys dressed up as skeletons for Halloween. In December 2019, Veronica posted photos of her young family with Santa Claus. She also had posted numerous loving photos of herself with her husband, many with hearts or stars, and some with sayings such as “My Soulmate”, “I Love My Husband”, and “I Love You, All I Need is Your Love”. One photo collage which pictured herself with her husband and their three boys, she captioned, “My Loves”. Her Facebook bio shows the birth dates of all her three sons, separated with hearts, and her declaration, “Happily Married” followed by her wedding date and heart, lock, key and wedding ring emojis.
To assist in searching for Veronica, hiring a private investigator, and offering a reward for information leading to Veronica’s whereabouts, Gloria Delgado, Veronica’s aunt has organized a GoFundMe fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/search-for-veronica-reyes-diaz .
Do You Have Information in this Missing Person Case?
Case Number: 2020-51027. Please contact Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office via telephone at (813) 247-8200 OR (813) 247-8000, via e-mail at Piocommandcenter@hcso.tampa.fl.us , by filling out an online form at https://teamhcso.com/Forms/517079c4-ddc8-4257-9f52-69abb9e789b1/Contact ; or by sending postal mail to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, P.O. Box 3371, Tampa, FL 33601, USA. To report tips anonymously, see below. **
MISSING In Hillsborough County, Florida: Veronica is not alone
Investigation: In May 2020, NBC News reported that Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Amanda Granit, Assistant Chief Communications Officer, said “Reyes-Diaz is not considered [an] endangered [missing person].” The Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse (MEPIC) of Florida Department of Law Enforcement states in their case criteria that “endangered” includes “any missing adult who is between the ages of 18-25”, and that the missing person must be entered into the National Crime Information Center before MEPIC can open a case. Law enforcement enters registered missing persons into the database. At the time of her disappearance, Veronica Diaz was 23 years old. Kelly Marie Vazquez, a 21-year-old White female, who went missing from Valrico, Florida in Hillsborough County on Sunday, May 23, 2021 is listed on the MEPIC database as a Missing Endangered Person. According to Google Maps, Valrico is approximately an eight-minute drive from Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park, where Veronica Diaz is believed to have been last seen.
Kelly Vazquez
New information has come forward that indicates Kelly may have been last seen in Keysville, which is south of Hopewell, and about a 20- to 25-minute drive from Valrico. Kelly Vazquez is 5’5″, 120 lbs, with auburn hair, which may be dyed red or purple, and blue eyes. She was last seen in Valrico wearing a dark blue jacket, black T-shirt and white sneakers. As reported by Tampa Bay News, she had taken clothing with her, said her grandmother, Maria Vazquez. Her shoes have been located in Keysville, where a male friend said she was walking barefoot. Her two iPhones, which her grandmother had reported as stolen, were both recovered in June 2021. They had been wiped, and one SIM card was missing.
Cieha Taylor
Also missing from Plant City, Florida is 28-year-old Cieha Annette Taylor of Dade City in Pasco County, who was last seen on Thursday, February 6, 2020. Cieha Taylor is 5’6″, 170 to 180 lbs, with auburn hair, and brown eyes. Cieha was driving a black 2000 Toyota Solaris–which was found with the engine running–on railroad tracks at East Trapnell Road. Her cell phone was found on the ground; her bank card was found inside her vehicle. There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to finding Cieha.
** Do You Know Something About These Missing Persons in Hillsborough County?
All three women were in their 20’s at the time of their disappearances. Due to circumstances, all three women were not reported missing until days later; Veronica: 2 days, Cieha: 3 days, Kelly: 6 days.
All three women had auburn, red or burgundy hair at the time of their disappearances.
Veronica and Cieha’s vehicles were both left behind, with their purse or wallet, cash and/or bank cards inside.
Cieha’s and Kelly’s shoes were both located outdoors. Cieha’s shoes were found after a search, placed neatly under a utility pole that displayed her missing poster. Kelly’s shoes were found during a volunteer search.
Veronica and Cieha are very similar in appearance and have like facial structures. They both have brown eyes. They both wear similar glasses, at times. Cieha disappeared less than three weeks after Veronica.
Both Cieha and Kelly had numerous tattoos. Cieha: upper chest: infinity symbol; inner forearm: large rose with stem; ankle: ladybug; shoulder (back): double X’s with rose; outer thigh (upper) faced sun. Kelly: right thigh: rose, left thigh: dream catcher; hand: spider; wrist: name ‘Chris K’; finger: homemade ‘$’.
The vehicles belonging to both Veronica and Cieha had been involved in some kind of interaction with police in Plant City within hours of their disappearances. Veronica had been pulled over by police on the night she disappeared; and police had moved Cieha’s vehicle on the same night she disappeared, but before she was reported missing.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this article was pieced together from various sources, including assorted media reports, and recollections of family members; and is believed to be as accurate as possible. If you have anything additional to provide, or wish to request a correction, please comment below or contact the author. In cases of discrepancies in details provided by various sources, the most reliable or reasonable source of information–in the opinion of the author–was used. We are not liable for errors in sourced information or opinions, attributed to other parties.
Main Source: In regards to Veronica, her father, Fidencio Minjares, was interviewed for this article.
Skyanna Jameson 